


Stranded

by twdeadfanfic



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU Death Stranding, AU TWD, AU The walking dead, F/M, dadyl, daryl dixon being an (adoptive) dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28634073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twdeadfanfic/pseuds/twdeadfanfic
Summary: TWD|Death Stranding AU with aspects of both worlds and my own thing, and mostly TWD characters showing up as we go.30 years have passed since the Stranding ended the world as it was known, as if pretty much the apocalypse came, and now people live in isolated communities or by themselves, while the dead walkers roam the world and so do hostile groups of people. Daryl Dixon is a freelance porter that during a delivery finds an orphan baby who he takes, unsure of what do with her, and not much later stumbles into Rick Grimes, and ex-guard looking for his missing family with the help of Grady Memorial Settlement, in exchange of working for them by joining to their net the other settlements, reconnecting the world, and with the help of Vikki, a scout sent by Grady to take Rick to those settlements, and to help them reach Alexandria, the final destination, a big, distant settlement, where his family is supposed to be.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon & Original Character(s), Daryl Dixon & Original Female Character(s), Daryl Dixon/Original Character(s), Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a weird thing, but I worked very, very hard on it.

The sky was getting darker and darker, black clouds following him. Daryl could hear the timefall storm behind him getting closer and the moans of the dead as he rode on his bike as fast as he could, trying to leave them both behind. He could smell the rain falling, that rain that if it poured over you long enough, it would turn your body, mind, and soul into whatever those walking, flesh-eating, corpses were, and so he speeded up even more. At least those walkers were easier to leave behind than the rain, the storm was approaching fast, too fast.

Daryl knew he had to find a place to take refuge from it but as he frantically looked around, he couldn’t find anything. He could already hear the rain splattering on the ground behind him, and as he looked around again for somewhere to hide, one of those walkers seemed to come out of nowhere. Suddenly it was in front of his bike and Daryl slammed the brakes out of instinct, turning the bike, but it slid down the hill on the already wet ground, and both Daryl, the bike and the cargo skidded through mud and stones, right towards a cliff that Daryl had been trying to avoid getting too close to.

Daryl rolled to the side in time to avoid falling off the cliff but his bike wasn’t so lucky, and he couldn’t reach it fast enough to stop it from falling down the cliff. Shit dammit. There was no time to curse or complain, though, the timefall was approaching fast and the walkers were approaching…well, rather slow, but approaching still.

Daryl looked around once again, trying to see something through the darkness, some place to hide from the rain, and then he saw it, a small prepper’s bunker some meters away. He ran to it as fast as he could, some droplets of timefall hitting him right before he reached the tiny, covered porch of the bunker, but his suit protected him, unless he ended up drenched in the rain.

Panting, Daryl closed the grating doors so no walkers could get in, and he let himself drop down onto the metal floor, trying to recover his breath. He had lost his damn bike, his brother’s bike, the one he had stolen from Merle, so many years ago. His brother used it to deliver drugs and what not for his business, so it was good for a freelance porter like Daryl. He’d stolen it from his brother, to take from him something that he loved, like he felt then that Merle had done to him…but no, he shouldn’t let himself think about that, he couldn’t, that dreaded fist was already clenching his heart and something was stabbing his stomach…he couldn’t.

He needed to focus on what he was going to do now… damn, he was such an idiot, how he could have been so careless and so clumsy. He knew he shouldn’t have gone to that area, it was famous for having an almost incessant timefall and a good share of walkers. But the delivery was very, very well paid, and heaven knew he needed the money. Now he had lost not only that cargo and he knew he was going to get an awful review for it, but he had also lost his damn bike, and he couldn’t afford one. Maybe he could get some pieces and build one, he worked as a mechanic before he was a porter, maybe he could find some junk pieces and turn them into something…

But for that, he needed to leave that damn place, but there he was, trapped in a bunker’s porch by the timefall, he didn’t know for how long, trying to be as silent as possible so walkers wouldn’t notice him, he didn’t want a herd rattling the grating doors, he’d be trapped forever, and the prepper that lived in the bunker wouldn’t like to find its outsides full of walkers.

The prepper…maybe Daryl could try and explain them his situation? But he hated the idea of having to ask for help, he didn’t need it, he could manage on his own like he’d always done. Besides, those kind of preppers that lived isolated weren’t the most friendly and social people in the world…and coming from Daryl, who was quite a loner and liked his solitude, and who couldn’t remember the last time that he talked to a person who wasn’t in a terminal making a delivery, that was saying a lot.

Still, maybe he could check the bunker’s terminal, see if the prepper needed some delivery, earn some much-needed money, especially now that he had messed up his last delivery and lost his bike, and maybe the prepper would have something useful to give him and help him with the deliver…sure, not a bike, but…something.

With that in mind, Daryl got up and checked the terminal, but when he pushed the button nothing happened. Weird. Daryl tried again but nothing, and he frowned, looking around. Maybe their power generator didn’t work? It happened sometimes, a few of his delivers had been pieces to fix those generators, most were handmade and didn’t work too well, and sometimes he was paid extra if he helped to fix it. He couldn’t go out to check, though, not until the timefall stopped. Maybe the bunker was abandoned? It wouldn’t be strange, in the middle of nowhere as it was, but then again, most prepper’s bunkers were, just not in the middle of a seemingly eternal timefall rain.

The bunker seemed taken care of, though, so maybe their power generator had indeed broken down? If that was the case, they’d be in need of help, trying to survive with no power at all, if they hadn’t sent a message on time asking for help and pieces before the emergency power ran off, nobody would know that they needed help. Well, if he helped them, then maybe they could give him something useful to get back on his feet, or at the very least they might allow him to wait inside for the timefall to leave, instead of at the porch.

“Hello? Is there anybody in there?” Daryl called, not too loud so as not to attract walkers, but he wasn’t sure if someone inside the bunker would hear him. They were made so the sounds of the inside couldn’t be heard at the outside, so as not to attract walkers, but he wasn’t sure about the other way around. “Do you need help?”

There was no answer, and Daryl didn’t know what to do, chewing on his lip, but finally he decided to try another time, and he knocked on the bunker’s door. However, as he knocked on the door, it opened as if it hadn’t been locked and just a push could open it, and no sooner had the door opened, Daryl heard the cries of what sounded like a baby.

What the hell.

Daryl walked into the bunker, barely illuminated by the emergency lights, the cries getting louder, and there it was, a rudimentary crib with a baby in it, crying. Daryl was so stunned he couldn’t move or do anything, looking at the baby in shock, before he came back to his senses and rushed to close the door so walkers couldn’t hear the cries. Then he walked to the crib and the crying baby, looking at her but doing nothing, before looking around, but nobody else seemed to be there…what the hell…what was going on…what was this…

The baby’s cries were getting more desperate, and so Daryl reached down and hesitantly picked her up, unsure of how to hold her but trying to at least not to hurt her or drop her. The baby kept crying her heart out, but she didn’t struggle, letting him hold her, and an instinct that Daryl didn’t even know he had seemed to kick in, so he found himself holding the baby against him carefully and rocking her from side to side as he shushed her.

The baby stopped wailing and Daryl pulled her a bit away to look at her, tears still streaming down her face as she pouted, but she was holding onto him. “The hell’s going on, baby?” Daryl asked more to himself than her, stunned and confused. Then, he noticed a paper inside the crib, and he took it.

_“If you’re reading this, I hope that you’re the help and you have arrived on time. I’ve messed up everything, and I’ve failed my baby and I’ve failed my wife, she was sick, died shortly after the childbirth, and now I’ll die too and I’ll leave our baby alone, and who I’m kidding, she’ll die too, unless you have arrived on time and you have arrived to help, and not to murder us or rob us._

_The generator broke down and we were left with the emergency supply. I should have called for help, but I had some pieces hidden in a warehouse not far, I thought I could fix it myself, and so I took my daughter and went, but we were attacked by a herd before reaching it. I managed to save my daughter, hidden under my clothes, and to outrun them, but not before one of them took a bite off my arm._

_You know how it works. It is not as fast as the timefall, but eventually your flesh turns into that, and so does your brain, and you become one of them. I feel good, but I also can feel my temperature getting higher. It’s only a matter of hours before I’m one of them. I know I have to leave before that, I know I can’t be near her when I turn. And so I’m writing this, after sending a message for help with the emergency power that’s left, but the terminal shut down as I sent it, and I don’t know if it worked, but I do hope that it did and so that’s why you are here reading this. I hope you didn’t take too long, I hope my baby is alive and safe with you._

_There are bottles of milk in the fridge over the table, it should last you for some days. She’s perfect and you’ll love her, or whoever you give her to, but what would I tell you. Please take care of her, please take her to safety, even if you are not the help, even if you came to murder us or rob us. Help her._

_I don’t feel that good now. I’m burning. The skin in my hands is starting to change. I have to leave._

_Help her please, and tell her I love her, and that I’m sorry._

_Please, help her.”_

Shit…

Daryl looked at the baby again, who was holding onto him, whimpering as tears fell down her face, and then again at the letter. The man writing that had to be insane. Leave a baby alone like that in a bunker? She could perfectly have starved to death, and with the door unlocked, someone could have gotten in, he had, and his intention wasn’t to murder the baby, but there was all kind of people around…not to mention that a walker could have stumbled into it, they weren’t smart to open doors, but it could have pushed it open somehow. The worse was the idea of starvation, though, it sounded like a horrible death…but sure, the man had called for help and was expecting someone to show up as soon as possible…and what was he supposed to do, knowing that he was going to turn into one of those brainless monsters, living in the middle of nowhere, too far from anyone to deliver the baby before he turned and devoured her.

Yeah, sure, the guy hadn’t had many options, but it still seemed absolutely reckless to leave a baby alone like that to Daryl…but maybe it showed how desperate the father had been. Still, that baby could have starved to death so easily, dying in such a horrible way…

The thought made Daryl kick into action, no matter he was still stunned and in shock, and he looked around for the fridge. He left the baby on the crib and she began crying loudly again, so Daryl rushed to get a bottle of milk from the fridge as fast as he could, picking up the baby again.

He held her with one arm as best as he could, scared that he was going to let the small baby fall to the ground and he’d kill her, so he could feed her the bottle. Daryl had never held a baby before, much less give a bottle to one, and he was panicking as if he were fighting a herd of walkers at the thought of doing it wrong. The baby didn’t fall down, though, neither it seemed like he was hurting her, or that she was uncomfortable, snuggled on the crook of his elbow, and once he clumsily placed the bottle close to her mouth, the baby latched to it and began drinking.

“Yeah, that is…hungry uh?” Daryl said quietly, and he didn’t dare to move while the baby fed herself, seeming hungry, until she finally stopped drinking and began to fuss as she tried to get away from the bottle. “It’s alright, baby.” Daryl took the bottle away, and feeling a bit more confident, he kept holding the baby just with one arm, holding her against his chest, to place the bottle on the counter.

Then, Daryl looked down at the baby again. She wasn’t crying anymore, though her very tiny hands still held to him as if she were holding for dear life, no matter she hadn’t any strength… in a way, it was true that she was holding for dear life. Then…then she smiled at him, a very little but very cute smile, even Daryl had to admit it, and the corner of his mouth lifted up into a tiny smile too, as his heart did something it hadn’t ever done before.

“The hell are we gonna do now, uh, kid?” He muttered as he looked around, feeling clueless and helpless before he let himself fall down onto the tattered sofa that was on the middle of the bunker, near the crib, still holding the baby. He glanced towards the letter again and let out a sigh. “So…it seemed your daddy had to leave before he turned into one of those dead assholes, so he wouldn’t hurt you…I’m sorry about it, baby. I don’t know if you understand shit of what I’m saying…you don’t, do you?” Daryl said and then the baby cooed, looking up at him. “Or do you? I haven’t talked to a baby before, you’re the first one I meet…” He could have met a baby before, though, but he’d messed that and no, no he couldn’t think about that, stop it.

Daryl closed his eyes tight, trying to stop his brain, and then he heard the baby making another noise and felt her tiny hand holding to the sleeve of his suit, so he looked at her, and the baby made another of those babbly sounds at him. “Yeah, baby, I’m sorry about your daddy…but I’ll help you, alright? Ain’t no sure how, though…” Daryl couldn’t leave the baby, there was no way, no matter he didn’t know what to do with her, he knew he had to help her, and he didn’t know if the message asking for help had been sent or not, but he didn’t feel like waiting there to find out if someone arrived to help the baby, if nobody did, he’d run out of milk for her waiting in the middle of nowhere. “Alright, let’s see…”

Daryl had lost all his things, that fell down the cliff with his bike and his cargo, except the bag attached to his suit, and he held the baby with one arm again, this time without panicking that much about dropping her, to rummage into the bag, taking out a map. “Alright, we’re here, see…” He pointed it on the map and kept talking to the baby, for some reason, even if probably she didn’t know what was going on. “Ain’t sure if there’re preppers around, but see this here? That’s the Grady Memorial settlement. It’s big, sure they can help a baby like you, yeah? We got no bike or nothing, so it’s a couple of days walking or more…” That, if they didn’t got trapped somewhere by timefall or a herd, or both, like it had happened to him now.

Daryl didn’t know much about that settlement, didn’t like it much either. It was the biggest in the area, with all sort of facilities, so they thought of themselves and their settlement as big shit, they wouldn’t make dealings with a porter like him, they had their own company. Yeah, he didn’t like those uppity assholes at all, and the only time he’d been around to offer his services, to be dismissed as if he were ridiculous, he hadn’t liked the vibe of the place either, even if he couldn’t really say why, he’d learned to trust his instincts. But sure, there would be someone there who could help the baby, doctors, and nurseries, and people to adopt her probably and what no.

Still, Daryl didn’t like the idea of leaving her there, in that place he didn’t like even if he couldn’t put his finger on why, but what else could he do? That plan would have to do, maybe he could come up with something else on his way there, and if he didn’t…well, the baby would sure have a good life there, in a place protected of timefall, walkers, hunger, and hostile groups.

“But how do we get there, uh, baby?” Daryl muttered…how was he going to walk around with a baby when there were walkers around for sure and the continuous threat of timefall, and of finding hostile groups, especially now that he had lost his stuff, he was lucky enough he’d kept his crossbow, strapped to him. Carefully holding the baby to him, Daryl got up and walked around the small bunker, trying to find something useful, but there wasn’t much.

Glancing at the crib again, Daryl noticed some sort of clothing hanging from the side of it, and when he took it, he saw it was some sort of baby sling, but as he touched it, he realized it was made with a material resistant to timefall, like his suit. “Your daddy knew what he was doing, uh?” He said quietly to the baby, who whether understood him or not, she always cooed or made a sound when he talked to her, and Daryl kind of liked it. “Okay, it can work.”

He could carry the baby on the sling and she’d be protected from the timefall, as long as they didn’t get caught up in it for too long, he could even place her and the sling under his clothes, let just her head out, covered with the sling, and he could be careful not to get caught up by a group of walkers or of bad people, he always was. It’d have to do, even if he didn’t like the idea of walking for days instead of riding, with so many threats around, with a little baby with him.

“But first,” he kept talking to the baby. “We gotta wait for the timefall to stop and for the walkers to disperse.” He walked to the door and carefully opened it, only to find a big timefall storm still raging outside and everything pitch black around. “Alright, I guess we still have to wait…we should rest anyway, we got a long journey ahead.”

In all honestly, Daryl was exhausted and his body ached. He knew he could keep going if he had to, but it seemed like all he could do for now was rest, so better take advantage of it and caught up on some sleep. It’d been a while since the last time he’d slept in someplace as protected as a bunker…which reminded him, there was no power to lock the door, but still he had to make sure the door was properly closed so nothing and no one could get in while he slept.

Daryl placed the baby on the crib and as soon as he did, she began crying again. “It’s okay, baby, you wait a minute.” Daryl pushed a heavy looking metal shelf towards the door, grunting, until he managed to block the door with it, so nothing could get in. Once he was done, he rushed to pick up the baby again. “I got you, hey, I got you,” he murmured, rocking her side to side carefully, and soon the baby had stopped crying, looking at him and reaching a tiny hand to hold to his clothes, and somehow Daryl found himself smiling softly at her again. “Told you I got you…now come, let’s get our head down.”

The sofa could pull out as a bed, he realized, but Daryl didn’t bother, just letting himself flop down on it again. “Wanna eat some more?” He told her, taking the bottle from the table and carefully offering it to her, and the baby drank the milk that was left, looking at him. “I hope we got enough milk to last until we reach Grady…”

With a tired groan, Daryl lifted his feet onto the sofa and shifted to lie down on it, being mindful of not letting the baby fall down. He had the feeling that if he tried to leave her on the crib, she’d began crying again, and so he rested her over his chest, and the baby looked at him. “Sure you miss your daddy, uh? I’m sorry, baby…” Daryl told her quietly, carefully brushing a finger over the small cheek of the baby, and when she smiled at him, Daryl felt something tugging at his heart again. “I’m gonna get some sleep, we don’t know when I’ll be able to do so once we’re out here…you sleep too, alright?” He told her, and the baby cooed at him.

Daryl secured an arm around her, holding her safely against his chest, and then he began to hum to her quietly. He didn’t know who fell asleep first, him or the baby, but soon they were both asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who gave a chance to the last chapter. Daryl has lost his bike and cargo due to timefall and walkers, and he’s found an orphan baby who needed his help…a new twd character shows up this chapter!

Daryl had been walking nonstop for hours, the whole day almost, but he knew that if he let himself think about being tired, it’d be worse, and he couldn’t just collapse and rest anywhere now that he had a baby with him. “How you doing, uh, baby? Daryl asked as he looked at the baby, who was securely held to him with the sling. Besides the baby, he was carrying his crossbow, the bag attached to his suit with a map, some rations, a rope and little more, and a bag that he’d taken from the bunker and stuffed with the bottles of milk from the fridge and the cans of food he’d found there too. At least he didn’t have to carry heavy cargo. Still, he missed his damn bike.

“Are you bored? Yeah, this place doesn’t have the best views…” As he talked, the baby looked at him, making those sounds that she as always did when he talked to her, and it always made a small smile tug at his lips.

Since leaving the bunker, Daryl had found himself talking to the baby every few minutes or so, checking on her, telling her their plan or what they were doing, or just some of his thoughts, and he found that he liked it, and he liked how the baby always made some soft sound back to him. When leaving the bunker, he’d been worried she was going to make any loud sounds or cry and alter the walkers that they might find around, but she hadn’t, and if she got fussy, it seemed his voice could calm her down.

Daryl should probably find a place to rest and pass the dark hours protected from timefall and walkers. He’d have wanted to go further today, but he had to find a detour on his way to Grady Memorial when he noticed the black clouds on the horizon that signaled timefall, and so he’d been forced to walk around that big area and to the opposite of the wind, hoping that the timefall wouldn’t move to his direction. If he kept going like that, he wouldn’t reach the damn settlement in days, and he was worried about running out of milk for the baby. He hoped he didn’t have to take more detours. At least he had been able to either silently kill all the walkers he’d found or to hide from them.

Daryl was starting to lose hope on finding some place safe in that damn deserted area, the sky was dark already, there were the sound of timefall somewhere too close for comfort, when he saw a cave.

“Alright baby, that’s our place for the night,” he murmured, heading towards the dark cave, walking slightly inside it, illuminating it with his lantern, though he knew he’d spend the night in almost complete darkness, he didn’t want to run out of battery for the lantern and he didn’t have anything to make a fire. “There we go…” He sat down, letting out a sigh and resting his back against the cave wall.

Daryl picked up the baby from the sling, holding her and checking on her, glad when she seemed to be okay, making babbly noises at him. “Let’s eat something, okay?” Carefully of not dropping the baby, he took one of the bottles from the bag and helped her drink. She had already drank another full one during the day, and Daryl tried not to calculate how long the bottles that he had would last them, because he knew he would panic about it. It doesn’t matter how long they would last, he needed to reach Grady as soon as possible, or at least somewhere else were he could find milk for the baby. “It’s good, uh?”

Once the baby was done eating, Daryl placed her back onto the sling, though outside of his clothes. “I’m gonna turn off the lantern now, hope you ain’t scared of darkness, but it’ll be alright,” he told her, brushing the tip of his finger ever so softly over the baby’s cheek, and once again, when she babbled and smiled at him, his lips curled into a smile too as his heart did something weird. “Now you sleep, it’s okay, I’m gonna take watch.” He couldn’t just fall asleep, a walker could stumble into the cave, he knew, and Daryl knew too that he could go without sleeping one day or two, but anyway he better found a place to sleep the next night, but for this night, it would be good enough just to rest his body for some hours.

Daryl turned off the lantern and the baby made noises but she didn’t cry, snuggling to him, and something tugged at Daryl’s heart again as he held her to him. “I got you baby,” he murmured before he began to hum softly to her.

*

The next day was pretty much the same than the one before, though this time Daryl was lucky enough to not have to take a detour, the timefall was far enough, and though he found a group of walkers, he was far enough from them to be able to put them down with his crossbow before they approached. Again, he realized how much he liked the baby’s company, he couldn’t really make sense of it, it wasn’t like the baby told him much, neither had he ever liked much to travel with people before, but he always found himself talking to her, and enjoying it, not to mention that that instinct to protect her just seemed to grow even more inside him…Daryl knew that he was getting attached, he was fond of the baby, which surprised him more than anyone. He knew it was silly, he had known her for two days, and he knew it was probably a bad idea, but it wasn’t like he could help it.

“Look baby, we got lucky,” Daryl muttered. Ahead of him was a warehouse where he could hole up, if there was nobody in there already. There were still a couple of light hours, a couple of hours that he could keep walking towards Grady, but then he’d risk to not find a place like that, protected enough for him to rest and sleep. Before approaching it, Daryl placed the baby carefully under his clothes so she couldn’t be seen, but making sure that she could breathe. “It’s okay, baby, just a minute.”

Carefully, Daryl approached the warehouse and listened. Nothing. The wall had a small window so he looked through it, and he couldn’t see anything moving inside. He then knocked at the door. Nothing still. At least he knew there weren’t walkers inside, and he hoped neither hidden people. Pointing the crossbow in front of him, Daryl opened the door slightly, walking inside when he didn’t see anyone. He checked the whole place and found, relieved, that it was empty. Literally, nothing good that he could scavenge, but at least no one or nothing dangerous either.

“Alright baby, we’re staying here,” Daryl told her as he placed her outside his clothes again, and the baby cooed at him, smiling when she could see him again, and Daryl couldn’t help himself from smiling back. He pushed a heavy shelf, grunting at the effort, until he blocked the door, and then he let himself flop down onto the floor against the wall. “Hope you don’t mind if I sleep for a bit,” he told to the baby, who babbled at him. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll feed you first.” He reached out for a bottle inside his bag. “You really don’t think about rationing, do you?” He didn’t have the heart to ration her milk either and not feed her when she wanted to, after all he didn’t even know how much babies were supposed to eat. “Alright…now sleep, okay?”

The baby cooed, smiling, and Daryl couldn’t help his own smile. He reached back to tug at the elastic that held the small ponytail that he wore to keep his hair out of his face when he was traveling, taking it off and running his fingers through his hair and scalp. When he wore it for too long, sometimes it felt as if it was tugging at his brain.

The baby looked at him at that, reaching out as if she wanted to grab his hair, and Daryl leaned closer, letting her do so, chuckling when she tugged at it. “Ouch.” He pulled back again, smiling at the baby. He held her securely to his chest and shifted to lie down on the sofa, keeping her on his chest. “Now let’s sleep, alright baby? Come on, you gotta rest too.”

Daryl slept for hours, and when he woke up, the baby was awake already, looking at him and babbling when she saw him opening his eyes. “Morning, baby…you’re right, we have to get going, we need to reach Grady…”

Daryl didn’t feel as lucky that day as he had felt the day before. The baby drank a whole bottle before they left the warehouse, and Daryl was getting more stressed about running out of milk before reaching Grady. On top of that, a herd of walkers forced him to hide and take a detour, and once he had managed to lose the herd, he saw a timefall storm approaching. Shit dammit.

Daryl wanted to curse and kick something, everything seemed to go bad that day, he had lost time, and he was frustrated, but over everything, he was terrified of not finding a place to take refuge and be caught up in timefall with the baby. He rushed away from the approaching timefall, desperately looking for a place where he could wait it out, until finally, finally, he saw a prepper’s bunker ahead.

Daryl didn’t even have to think it, he began running to it. It didn’t matter if a prepper wasn’t friendly, they were never hostile towards porters either, they knew that sooner or later they’d have to rely on one of them, and at the very least, they’d allow him and the baby to rest in their porch.

Once he reached it, though, Daryl noticed that the placed seemed abandoned, and when he checked the terminal, it didn’t work. “Seems they ran out of power like your home, baby,” he commented, and he went to knock on the door. Nothing. Daryl pointed his crossbow in front of him, in case he found someone hostile inside the bunker or walkers, but as he carefully pushed the door open, the bunker, illuminated by the solar-powered emergency light, was empty. Good….it was worse than the chance of finding a prepper willing to help him, but it was way better than a million other things he could have found, and staying inside beat having to wait the storm out on the porch.

“Alright, baby, let me catch my breath…” Panting, Daryl flopped down onto a sofa that was in the middle of the bunker. He didn’t bother to push anything heavy against the door, he was too tired of walking nonstop and running…he should probably take advantage of the bunker and catch some sleep, though. Daryl looked around the bunker, spotting a heavy-looking closet…yeah, he could push that against the door and get some sleep. Just five minutes.

Daryl soon regretted having waited five minutes, though, when he thought he heard footsteps outside. He wasn’t sure, the metal walls didn’t allow much sound to get in, but still he rushed to get up and take his crossbow. He sure hoped it was a walker and not a person, and he stayed absolutely silent.

Then, the door pushed open and a man barged in, stopping when he found Daryl, wide-eyed and seeming shocked. Daryl almost, almost shot the bolt, but at the last second, he decided to warn the man and shot if he moved.

“Stop or I put an arrow on you!” He yelled, and the man raised his hands above his head.

“Okay, okay! I mean no harm!” He looked from Daryl to the baby strapped to him, and Daryl felt like shooting at him at that, and then the man’s eyes returned to his face, seeming even more shocked. “I mean no harm,” he repeated.

“Get the fuck out of here!” Daryl barked again. For a second, he had thought that maybe the guy was the prepper, coming back to repair the bunker’s generator, but a quick glance at the man’s clothes revealed that he was a guard…Daryl wondered what was a guard doing there in the middle of nowhere.

“I can’t do that,” the man said, still holding his hands up. “You can see there’s a timefall storm out there, you know what that will do to me.”

Daryl could see the heavy storm, but he was not going to lower his guard. “Your suit protects you,” he just said, and it was right, but not if the guy got too drenched in that damn poisonous water, and there in the middle of nowhere, he knew well how hard it was to find a place to hide from it.

“Come on, man, I was looking for refuge, there’s nothing else around, I’m soaking wet already.”

Daryl could see that too, but that didn’t mean he could trust that man. “You can wait it out on the porch.”

“Thing is, I can’t…just listen,” the man looked at him as if he were afraid Daryl was going to shoot him at any moment, but Daryl did listen. “This place seems to have been abandoned for a while and the water is filtering through the roof of the porch, see?” Daryl didn’t feel like looking away from the stranger, but he glanced at the porch for a second and realized that the man was right. At least the water wasn’t filtering into the bunker too. “Please, I just need a place to wait it out. I get it, I know what you think, but I don’t want to hurt you or your baby. I swear.”

Daryl eyed the stranger warily, but he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know who that man was but he was not a porter like him, he knew that more or less you could trust other porters, maybe even some scouts, but that guys wasn’t either of those. Not only that, but he seemed to be a guard, and Daryl did not like guards, that he had learned from his brother. He had the baby with him too, he couldn’t make mistakes. But he also knew how was to get caught up in a timefall storm out there, to think that you would never find a place to wait it out until it was too late, to take refuge in prepper’s porch and have their kindness sometimes, allowing him to wait inside. He knew what was to be forced to rely on the help and kindness of strangers, even if he wasn’t one for it much, even if he didn’t like people that much either…

Daryl really didn’t know what to do. The man looked behind him at the timefall again, seeming desperate, and Daryl could also see a group of walkers there now too, they always seemed sort of attracted to the rain…he took his decision, and hoped he wouldn’t regret it.

“Drop your weapons!” He barked at the man, who seemed unsure of what Daryl was trying, but he was still pointing his crossbow at him and the man seemed to decide to trust him, like Daryl was doing with him. Slowly, he placed the hand on his gun and Daryl tensed, but then the man dropped it to the floor, and he did the same with his machete. “Don’t move,” Daryl warned, holding the crossbow with one hand as best as he could, though he knew he couldn’t really shoot like that, so he could tug at the sling and cover the baby even more. Then he took his cord from his belt and approached the man. “Hold your hands back.”

“Is this really necessary?” The man asked, but did as he was asked when Daryl nodded, and then he tied his hands behind his back. Once that was done, he kicked the door close again.

“Sit down.” Daryl awkwardly nodded towards a chair near the sofa, and the man went to it, seeming relieved that Daryl was allowing him to stay, didn’t complain even when Daryl tied him to the chair. Maybe it was true that he got why he couldn’t trust him.

Daryl sat down on the sofa, leaving his crossbow ready next to him and angling his posture so he could watch the man, even if he was tied down. He removed the material that was covering the baby’s head, and she looked at him and cooed. Daryl placed his hand on her back, over the sling, holding her firmly to his chest and rocking her slightly.

“You’re a porter, right?” The man asked and Daryl didn’t answer, he knew that the man could see in the back of his black suit the white wings that indicated that he was a freelance porter. That was their logo, and then the porters that worked for any big settlement had the logo from that place. “Never saw a porter carrying their baby with them.” The man chuckled, still seeming surprised. “It sounds dangerous…guess the mother is not around?” The man kept talking and Daryl looked away from him in silence without answering the questions.

The man stayed silent, but not for long, and Daryl was suspicious, wondering if he was trying to talk him into trusting him for nothing good. “I got a kid too, but he’s not a baby, he gotta be around twelve now.” If he was trying to gain his sympathy talking like that, it wasn’t going to work, Daryl wasn’t going to let him play with him. “I’m looking for him and my wife.” Daryl was still silent and the man chuckled. “You really aren’t going to talk to me?”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Daryl barked and the man chuckled.

“I swear I mean you no harm, man,” the guy told him and Daryl looked at him, studying him. He really seemed genuine, it didn’t give him the impression of wanting to murder them or anything bad, but Daryl knew it was dangerous to trust strangers and let your guard down, besides, it still didn’t make sense that a guard was there in the middle of nowhere. Looking for his family? Come on, that gotta be bullshit. Maybe he was a guard who had gone rogue and had been kicked off his settlement or had run away, maybe they were even looking for him…and yet, he didn’t give Daryl that impression. He didn’t know what to think. “Besides I’m tied to a chair, so… Anyway, I’m Rick Grimes.”

Daryl looked at him, chewing on his thumbnail, studying the man, wondering, thinking…but finally he spoke. “Daryl Dixon.”

“Dixon…” The man, Rick, frowned. “Dixon…I think I’ve heard that before…”

“I doubt it,” Daryl scoffed, wherever that guard was from, he knew he wasn’t from his old settlement or he’d know him. However…what if he did know Merle? Was if that Rick guy was from a settlement to which Merle might have gone…maybe he had gotten into trouble and that was why the guard knew him, it wouldn’t surprise Daryl. He’d hadn’t known anything from his brother in years and lately Daryl had been wondering where he was, wishing things between them had gone different…Daryl chewed on his lip before speaking again. “You’re a guard, yeah? Where from?”

“Yes, and King County settlement,” Rick told him, though the logo wasn’t in his suit, which seemed a standard one that still hadn’t gotten a logo, so it all made Daryl suspicious again.

“You’re far from home, sheriff,” He said. He’d never been to that settlement, it was a small one and far enough from the area where he usually did most of his deliverers.

“Yeah…I’m looking for my family, I told you. This suit is borrowed. I don’t even think I’m a guard anymore,” Rick said and Daryl just hummed.

“What you doing here?”

“Looking for my family,” the man repeated and Daryl scoffed. Yeah, sure, in the middle of nowhere. “It’s true. Look, I know you’re gonna think I’m bullshitting you, but doing my job I was shot by a group of assholes that came too close to King County, and I spent months in comma, I woke up a few weeks ago.” Daryl scoffed again, shaking his head. Yeah, sure. That man was either laughing at him or trying to play him, and he wasn’t going to take it, he’d been right not to trust him. “I’m serious! It’s true. Anyway, when I woke up…King County was a mess, a walkers herd had tore it down.” Daryl was still skeptical, but it wouldn’t be the first small settlement to meet that end. “My best friend, Shane, he left me a note. He also locked and barricaded the room I was in, I probably owe him my life, and my family’s. In his note, he said he was taking my family and leaving King County, trying to find a settlement safe from walkers and they were headed towards the east…biggest and closest settlement towards the east that I could think of was Grady Memorial.”

“You’re going to Grady?” Daryl didn’t know what to think if that man and him ending up going in the same direction.

“I come from Grady.”

“So you didn’t find your family there?” If the story that the man had told was true, then Daryl found himself feeling a bit sorry for him, maybe his family was dead after all.

“It’s…complicated,” Rick let out a tired sigh. “They weren’t there but when I asked they told me they thought they’d seen someone like that in a new, small settlement not far from there, Quarry Camp Settlement.” Daryl just hummed…it had to be fairly new, he hadn’t got any cargo from them or for them, but he didn’t do many deliveries in that area anyway. “So I went there…it seemed I missed them. They had left some notes, apparently they were attacked by hostiles who took their stuff, then when they left a herd came, so they decided to leave. Someone there had family in the Alexandria Settlement, said it was the safest, and so they were headed there.”

“You’re lying.” Daryl scoffed to all that. “Alexandria? Why would they go somewhere so far, to a place that maybe it’s not even real, make such a journey, when Grady was right there?” Daryl had gotten word of that Alexandria settlement from a prepper, apparently it was way, way west and was even bigger and more developed than Grady.

“It doesn’t make sense, right?” Rick said, frowning. “I’m not lying, I got the note, I can show it to you…but yeah, why would they go there, even if someone had family, why would everyone agree to go? I don’t know.” Daryl looked at the man, studying him, but once again, he seemed genuine. This business with his family didn’t sound right at all, but he wasn’t going to say that to him. “I went back to Grady for supplies to head towards the west and hopefully find Alexandria, but the leader, Dawn, wanted to talk to me. She told me that she knew that Alexandria was real and where it is, that she’d help me get to Alexandria if I worked for her, she wants to create some sort of net joining preppers and communities, so it’s easier to have a communication system and to help each other, like if we were all one big community, so they gave me a map with all the places they want to incorporate into the net, finishing in Alexandria.”

Daryl scoffed again, that sounded like a fantasy and plain stupid, but he had to admit that the man still sounded genuine. “All this sounds like bullshit, sheriff, both Alexandria and that net.”

“Why? It’s strange, alright, but, couldn’t it be good? Everyone connected and united, instead of being trying to survive on their own? Connecting communities, people, cooperating, all working together, helping each other? This could be what we need,” Rick said, and Daryl didn’t really know what to think about it all…he’d have to wonder about it…but then again, it wasn’t his business.

“All that? It doesn’t sound like Grady Memorial’s policy at all,” He just said and Rick chuckled.

“I know, I know, I’ve heard about them…and I have to admit, Dawn was rather…stern and uppity, yeah, most people inside might think that they’re better than the others outside…but people can change, can’t they? Maybe they know that the only way of surviving this world is if we all cooperate, maybe they want to be better than they were?”

“Yeah, sure,” Daryl snorted, shaking his head. “Tell me all this doesn’t sound shady to you, sheriff. You found your family gone, go to Grady and they tell you to look in this new little settlement, where you find that your family was there but left for Alexandria, which is a fuckton of kilometers away, and what a coincidence, it’s a place that Grady wants to add to some strange network of them, and so you’re gonna do that for them now.”

“I know, I know…” Rick let out a sigh, nodding. “But that’s the only clue I got of where my family is, I found the picture myself at the Quarry Settlement, my best friend Shane is the one writing the note saying they’re leaving for Alexandria…so there’s where I gonna go and hope that they’re there, and if Grady wants to use me to join people to whatever their net is, I don’t care, I’ll do it if that helps me reach Alexandria and my family.”

Daryl looked at Rick in silence…yes, once again, the man was genuine, Daryl was sure, and he got it, he wanted to find his family and would do anything for them, Daryl could get behind that, he regretted how he had left things with his brother and not having known anything about him for so long, and so he nodded, and for a while, both him and the man stayed silent, while Daryl debated about cutting off Rick’s restrains…he thought that the guy had told the truth, but he also didn’t want to risk it…

“I know where I saw the Dixon’s name before,” Rick suddenly said, taking Daryl out of his thoughts. “In the list of people I found in the Quarry Settlement.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got Rick Grimes! Next chapter, we finally meet my oc Vikki.  
> If you enjoyed this, please let me know your thouhts, your support really means the world to me.
> 
> As always, excuse my English, is not my first language


	3. Chapter 3

“I know where I saw the Dixon’s name before,” Rick suddenly said, taking Daryl out of his thoughts. “In the list of people I found in the Quarry Settlement.”

“Can’t be.” Why would his brother settle down in a new, tiny camp? When they left their home settlement, Merle had gone to a bigger one which would be better for his drugs business.

“You can check it yourself, the list is in my bag,” Rick said, and Daryl wasn’t sure if he felt like going through the man’s things, but if there was a chance of him being right, of Merle having been there, then he needed to know. He got up and went closer to Rick, and the baby looked curiously at the man from his slinger. Daryl was a bit apprehensive, but Rick smiled at the baby, and didn’t try anything. Awkwardly, Daryl opened the bag attached to Rick’s suit and reached inside, taking out a paper, but it was a picture of a woman and a small kid. “My family,” Rick explained, and Daryl nodded, placing the picture back inside the bag, careful not to bend it.

The next thing he got out was an envelope. Inside it was a note signed by someone called Shane, as Rick had told him his best friend was called, and written in it was everything that Rick had said. Daryl also took out a note with some inventory from the Quarry Settlement, and another one in which they seemed to have written the tasks of the camp and who was doing each, making a schedule, and there it was the name. Merle Dixon.

How could it be.

“It’s your family? Brother?” Rick asked and Daryl nodded in silence, dumbfounded. “I take you didn’t know where he was?” Daryl didn’t answer, didn’t even hear it, a million thoughts were running through his mind, and he began pacing back and forth the bunker, looking at the paper, wondering what he should do…Merle…Merle had been not far…Merle was now maybe in Alexandria, for reasons that Daryl didn’t understand but that sounded strange to him…but anyway…his brother was maybe with Rick’s family…what should he do… Finally, Daryl stopped his pacing and looked at Rick.

“I’m going to Alexandria.”

Rick nodded at it, and Daryl knew he got it. They were both going to look for their family. “We could help each other,” Rick suggested and Daryl knew it made sense, but he was still apprehensive at lowering his guard and trusting him, even if Rick seemed to have said the truth and seemed genuine, and didn’t feel to Daryl like one of the bad guys…but he had a baby with him, he had to be careful… Daryl studied the man in silence for a while again, and finally he nodded. He took his knife and went to the man, cutting his restrains and then he untied him off the chair. He really hoped he wouldn’t regret it. The man smiled at him, nodding too.

“How you know you can trust me?” Daryl asked to the man. “I could kill you, take all the shit that Grady gave you for myself.” He nodded at the bag.

“You just don’t seem to me like you’re one of the bad guys.” Rick shrugged and his words took Daryl aback. Nobody had thought like that in his old settlement, he knew what they thought of him, and though he probably deserved it, he’d always wondered if it’d something to do with his Dixon name, and also with Merle. “Besides…” Rick smirked, looking from him to the baby. “I know it means nothing and someone with a baby can kill you too, but you carrying your baby around…I don’t know, didn’t strike me like a murderer.”

“Murderers got kids too,” Daryl said and when Rick nodded, chuckling, he found himself smirking and chuckling too. “And I’d murder anyone who tries to hurt her.” He felt so protective over her, it was stupid considering he’d had the baby for three days, but he couldn’t help it.

“I know.” Rick nodded, serious again. “I’d do the same for my kid…but, are you sure about taking her to Alexandria? We’re talking about a long journey to places neither you nor I know, and probably dangerous.”

Rick was right…but Daryl didn’t know what to do…his original plan had been to take her to Grady Memorial, but he’d never been too keen on that…but it might be the best chance for the baby, and Rick was right, the path to find his brother was a long, dangerous journey towards the unknown…

“I was on my way to take her to Grady…” He murmured, looking at the baby, stroking her cheek softly with his fingertip, and the baby made a noise and smiled at him…it didn’t feel right, to leave her in Grady, not even if Rick was working with them, their agreement just threw Daryl off more somehow, there were too many blank spaces in it and things unanswered…

Rick frowned at that. “Really? You got family or friends there? I wasn’t expecting that…”

“No, no, I…” Daryl chewed on his lip, but finally he decided to say the truth. “She ain’t mine. I found her in a bunker three days ago, their parents were dead and so I took her, I thought that if I got her to Grady she might have a chance of having a good life in that posh place…”

“Seriously?” Rick seemed surprised. “She’s not your baby? And…three days ago?” He looked from him to the baby and back at him like he was amazed, and Daryl felt a bit awkward. “You both look like you had been together all her life, she seems so attached and fond of you, and man, you’d do anything for that baby, I only got to look at you to know it.”

Daryl would, he knew it, even if it was crazy and didn’t make sense. “She seems fond of me?” He found himself asking, a smile tugging at his lips.

“She does, and she seems so comfortable with you, I’d have never guessed she wasn’t your baby if you hadn’t told me.”

Daryl felt something tugging at his heart again, and he stroked the baby’s cheek again. He was so ridiculously attached and fond of her…and Rick said she was too? It made Daryl feel so many weird things that he almost felt dizzy, and he knew it, he knew he didn’t want to leave that baby and never see her again, he didn’t want to let go of her. But maybe it’d be the best for her, having a posh family in Grady, which could give her anything she needed, living in a sheltered place with all her needs covered, it was certainly better than the life Daryl could offer her, and he wanted the best for her…but he didn’t want to let go of her. And what if he left her in Grady and the family who took her wasn’t good with her? What if she wasn’t treated right? What if they were abusive assholes like his own family had been? Daryl felt rage but also panic at the idea.

“I don’t wanna leave her in Grady,” Daryl finally said aloud and Rick nodded.

“It’s dangerous, sure…but I think maybe the best place for her is with you.” Rick said, and Daryl hoped so, he really did. “She’s attached to you and…I’m working for Grady, but I didn’t like the place that much, it didn’t feel right, might be because they all feel above the rest of us as you said, might be something else…but if she’s with you, you know you can protect her better than if you leave her with someone else who you don’t know. When I find my family, I’m not getting separated from them again, and for that baby, you’re her family.

Daryl felt again all those feelings at Rick’s words, he felt moved even, and he nodded. He wasn’t giving up that baby, he was going to take her with him and protect her from harm. Rick looked at the baby and smiled. “You heard, baby? We’re all going to an adventure to find my family, and also your uncle, yeah, your daddy’s brother…” As he said that, Rick frowned and looked at Daryl. “Sorry, it’s…it’s just I thought you were his father all this time…if you don’t want me calling you that-”

“No, it’s fine, it’s fine.” Daryl found himself liking it, even if it made him feel all sort of weird feelings again, and also an arrow of pain and sorrow in his gut, but he forced himself to push those thoughts away, he couldn’t deal with them, he’d never could. “So, are we leaving? You got supplies?”

“Yeah, Grady gave me a lot of things, but we could expend the night here, leave early in the morning if the timefall stopped,” Rick said and Daryl nodded. Rick rummaged into his bag and took out a map, spreading it on the table. “Okay, first stop is here.” Rick pointed at a dot not far from where they were. “CDC Settlement, Grady told me it’s kind of their settlement too, there’s where people build stuff for Grady, they’re getting me a bike there.”

“Alright.” Daryl nodded, hoping they could get him a bike too since he was going to help the guy that was working for them. It wouldn’t be his brother’s bike, but it’d be a bike…Merle was gonna be so pissed when he arrived at Alexandria and he found he’d lost his bike…

“There’s also someone waiting for me there.” Rick looked at Daryl as if he were sure he wasn’t going to like that.

“What for?”

“They didn’t want me going alone so they radioed one of their scouts and told them to wait for me there and help me reach Alexandria,” Rick explained. “I didn’t know I was going to find someone in my way.”

Daryl didn’t like the idea of having to travel with yet another stranger, but he didn’t think there was anything he could do about it. He could try to go looking for Merle alone, try to reach Alexandria on his own, but he knew it’d be a long journey to do alone in an area that he didn’t know, he’d never been past Grady, and whether he liked it or not, he knew it’d be easier and safer to travel to the unknown with the help of people, he had to accept that. Besides, like porters, scouts were resourceful people, used to survive out there in the dangerous world. Settlements sent them to explore and find new places, or to bring to them people in need of shelter, or who wanted to move. It was always good for settlements to have more people working.

“Okay,” Daryl grumbled.

Rick seemed to catch the sentiment, and he didn’t seem too happy about Grady pairing him up with someone of them. “Tell you what, we don’t like that scout, we leave just the two of us.”

“Ain’t sure whatever contract you have with Grady allows you to do that…” Daryl muttered…he kind of felt like Grady wanted to have Rick controlled, but maybe they really just wanted to help.

“We’ll see…” Rick shrugged and got out some packages of rations. “Do you want some?”

“I got cans of food.” Daryl took out two from his bag. “Better save those rations for the journey.”

“Alright, thanks.”

Daryl took also a milk bottle and then he realized something. “I gotta go to Grady, I need milk bottles for the baby, I’m running low.”

“You want me to go all the way back to Grady after I just left?” Rick complained.

“You want me to run out of milk and starve her?” Daryl snapped.

“I’m not saying that…look, CDC is closer, we can go there, see if they have baby milk-”

“Why would they have baby milk in a place of just workers?” Daryl interrupted him.

“Maybe they have kids.” Rick shrugged, but Daryl doubted it, if they had, they probably moved to Grady. “Maybe they have regular milk, she can eat that too even if it’s not as good, I don’t think it’ll be easy to find baby milk, not even in Grady, there are not that many babies anymore.” Rick might be right, but still, Daryl knew he needed milk for the baby, and the biggest settlement was Grady. “Alright, look, we go to CDC, if they don’t have milk, we ask them to bring us some from Grady, they’ll be faster than us with their bikes. They want me to go connecting settlements to their net, I want them to bring me baby milk.”

“I think you overestimate how important you are for Grady.” Daryl snorted, but if someone from Grady did deliver them milk, it’d be faster than having to go on foot. “Alright, we do that, just don’t get all offended and sad when Grady says no and send someone else to Alexandria, Mr. Important.” Rick chuckled at that but didn’t say anything, and Daryl began to feed the bottle to the baby.

“What’s her name?” Rick asked and Daryl wondered why he hadn’t thought about that before.

“I don’t know…there was no name in the note I found…”

“And you didn’t give her any name?”

Daryl shrugged, he hadn’t even been sure that he was going to keep her, he had been on his way to get her to Grady… “I just call her baby?”

Rick chuckled again. “Alright.”

*

On the next day, they followed Rick’s map to CDC Settlement and Rick’d been right, they arrived there quicker than if they had backtracked to Grady. The baby had spent part of the journey sleeping, but she stirred when they were close. Daryl felt her moving in the sling and cooing and so he picked her up.

“Hey, Baby, you took a good nap, yeah?” He told her quietly, holding her to his chest and rocking her. “You okay? Wanna eat?”

“Hey, BB, look, we’re almost there.” Rick pointed at the CDC building. “Sure you rather eat in there than outside here where walkers and timefall can come to us, right?”

“BB?” Daryl frowned at Rick.

“Well, you just call her ‘baby´so I don’t know, it fits…” Rick shrugged, chuckling. “Unless you thought a name?”

Daryl scoffed. “She’s Baby, ain’t you?” he looked at her.

“That’s not a name?”

“And BB is?” Daryl rolled his eyes. Baby didn’t seem hungry, for now at least, or she’d be complaining, and Rick was right, it’d be safer to feed her inside the CDC, and it was just a few meters away. “Alright, let’s rush there.”

*

The guy at the reception of the CDC had been glad to see Rick, but then he’d seemed puzzled to see someone with him, and even more puzzled to realize that the other man had a baby strapped to him. Daryl could feel the shocked eyes of the man on him while he walked to the room where they had to wait for the scout that was supposed to help them reach Alexandria.

Daryl sat down on a chair to feed the baby while Rick paced back and forth, waiting. Daryl looked up when he heard footsteps in time to see an asian woman walking in, giving Rick a friendly smile as she approached him. She’d dark eyes and fiery red hair, keeping her fringe and the hair closer to his face pushed back into a half ponytail, and she looked very friendly and non threatening…Daryl didn’t trust it.

“Hey! You’re Rick, right? It’s nice to meet you! I’m Victoria, but call me Vikki, and…” The eyes of the woman landed on Daryl. “Uh…who are you?”

“He’s Daryl, we found each other out there, his brother was in the same settlement than my family, so he’s coming with me to Alexandria,” Rick answered for him, while Daryl held the baby protectively to his chest, studying the woman…

“Alright, the more the better, yeah?” The friendly smile was back on the woman’s face, but she still seemed surprised. “But…you got a baby with you! I’ve never seen a porter carrying their baby before…actually, no one of the porters I know have babies!”

“It’s a long story…” Rick answered again instead of Daryl.“ Listen, Daryl doesn’t have many bottles of milk left for her, can you ask a porter to bring some from Grady before we leave?”

“Sure, but…just…I don’t know what they’re gonna think…” Vikki frowned seeming thoughtful. “Or how long it’d take, I’m pretty sure there aren’t babies at Grady…can I have the map?” She asked to Rick, who had taken the map and was inspecting it, and he nodded, placing it on the table. “Look, see this dot? That’s the Greene’s farm, we have to connect them to the net. They got protected crops and cattle, which means, clean cow’s milk, I’m sure it’ll work perfectly for your baby and it shouldn’t take us more than a day to get there with the bikes, alright?”

The woman looked at Daryl and he checked the bottles that he had left and nodded, they would last and he felt like he’d rather have Grady not knowing about him and the baby for as long as possible.

“Good!” Vikki smiled brightly at Daryl and he had to admit that she seemed a genuine person, like he’d thought of Rick…at any rate, she didn’t look like the kind of person he’d imagined would be working for Grady, even though he was still suspicious of her, he couldn’t lower his guard and trust her blindly. She did seem genuine, though, and her smile turned into a grin when she looked at Baby, who was also smiling at her and cooing. Daryl knew that he shouldn’t go softer on a stranger just because the baby seemed to like her, and she seemed to like her too…but it helped, he couldn’t stop it.

Vikki pointed at some other dots in the map, telling them the names of some of the places, until she pointed at one way further west. “And the last one is my friend Malingen’s place, I haven’t seen her in so long, and she got a baby a couple of months ago, but I know nothing of her since them, I can’t wait to see her… anyway, that’s the closest settlement to Alexandria that I know.” Vikki informed them, her smile gone now. “A team went to clear paths to go further but disappeared, and then the few scouts that tried to go never came back and we never heard of them again except one, she came back saying that there was a big settlement called the Sanctuary, the people there called themselves saviors and didn’t let anyone pass, they either killed them or enslaved them, so no one has dared to venture there again.”

“Sounds like Grady is sending Rick to a suicide mission,” Daryl muttered. He’d heard that the area of Alexandria was so far that nobody really went there, that it was unknown and dangerous, but not the way Vikki was saying it.

“My family is in Alexandria,” Rick said and Daryl wondered how he did it to not doubt it even for a second. His family might have changed their mind, why would they go to somewhere they didn’t know just because they were with someone with family there, which was already strange now that he thought about it, since Alexandria was far and very unknown to them. And now Rick knew how dangerous the journey and the area was…maybe his family had even died on the way there already. Yet Rick was absolutely sure that they were there. Daryl thought it was kind of delusional but at the same time he admired it, and it helped him to think that his brother might be there with them too. “So I’m going to get to Alexandria.”

“Well said.” Vikki smiled.

“So, Grady got what they wanted,” Daryl said, he was still suspicious and he didn’t expect to stop feeling like that. “Someone with a motivation strong enough to go to Alexandria and do what they want no matter what, not caring if they die because of it.”

Vikki seemed taken aback by that, and Daryl tried to, but he couldn’t see any hidden intention in her. “I…guess…I hadn’t thought about it that way…”

“What’s in it for you?” Daryl asked her, determined not to let his guard down with her.

“Me?” Vikki blinked at him as if she didn’t expect that question, and she seemed to think it for some seconds. “I just want to see that area, Alexandria, maybe other new settlements, I want to go further than I’ve done, I want to know what’s there…I’m a scout, I’ve scouted all this area and everything to the east…I want to see the west now.” Daryl just hummed at all that…he knew scouts wanted to rediscover the world, but this was a dangerous journey, she had said so herself, doing so just for the sake of seeing new lands…Daryl wasn’t sure if he bought it, but as he studied the woman, he still couldn’t sense any threat coming from her, and she kept talking.

“No other scout wanted to go with me after the news of that Sanctuary place, and I’m not crazy enough to venture there alone without backup and help…So when Dawn from Grady asked me to help Rick go to Alexandria, I said yes in a second! I guess they knew I’d wanted to go there for a long while now, I got lucky.”

“Well, we can help each other to reach Alexandria, then.” Rick smiled, though as Daryl looked at him, he thought he was studying the woman and her words too, as if he didn’t trust blindly either.

The baby shifted in his arms, tugging at his clothes and making soft babbly noses, and as he held her to him, Daryl realized something, feeling like an idiot for not having seen it way before. “I can’t go on a suicide mission with a baby.”

“We don’t know if it’s a suicide mission…but yeah, you’re right, it’s dangerous…too dangerous to take a baby with us, I think.” Vikki seemed sorry as she looked at him, and Daryl felt conflicted again.

“I was gonna leave her at Grady but…couldn’t do it, couldn’t leave her,” he admitted quietly, a bit embarrassed, without looking at the woman.

“It’s understandable that you don’t want to leave your baby, nobody would…but it’s going to be dangerous, and I’m not sure if once we leave the area I know, we can protect ourselves, let alone a baby…” Vikki frowned, seeming thoughtful.

“She’s right.” Rick nodded, though he seemed sorry too.

“I damn know she’s right.” Daryl didn’t mean to lash out at him, but he couldn’t help it, overwhelmed be feelings as he was. “But I gotta find my brother…but I ain’t gonna get her killed…” He looked at the baby, who cooed and smiled again, all those feelings tugging at his heart and stabbing at his gut.

“Are you thinking about leaving her at Grady again?” Rick asked him softly.

“No…no, I ain’t gonna let her in that place with that damn people…” Daryl didn’t care that Vikki heard him talking like that about her people, he still didn’t trust Grady and had never liked the people there…what could he do with the baby, though, if he didn’t leave her there. “Or…I dunno…”

“Where are you from? Could you leave her in your settlement?” Rick asked him and Daryl snorted. His place didn’t have the best reputation around, and Dixons had a reputation there too, if people knew that a Dixon had brought Baby there, sure her life would be less from ideal, the people would make sure of that, and he had nobody there anyway.

“Don’t want her growing up like I did,” he said. Daryl didn’t know what to do and he felt defeated, maybe he should have left Baby at Grady after all…he couldn’t just not go looking for his brother, leave without knowing if he had made it to Alexandria or if he was dead, or if he’d gone to someplace else…

“Daryl, listen,” Vikki began, as if she was going to say how great Grady was, Daryl wasn’t going to listen to that bullshit, and he glared at her, but she didn’t back down. “Hershel Greene is a good, kind man, old-fashioned but good, and so are his daughters. If we ask him, I’m sure he’d take the baby and take good care of her until you were back…or you can stay there with the baby, I’m sure Hershel will welcome to have some help in the farm,” Vikki added when she noticed Daryl’s reluctance. “At least until she’s big enough to be your little porter assistant.” She smiled at the baby.

“I gotta find my brother.” Daryl shook his head, he couldn’t just stay somewhere playing farmer, not now when he knew where his brother might be.

“When I reach Alexandria, I’ll ask for him, I’ll let you know if he’s there, once those settlements are connected, it should be easier to communicate with each other,” Rick offered, but Daryl shook his head again.

“Nah, I’m going too.” He didn’t like the idea of leaving the baby in a place he didn’t know, with a man he didn’t know, but who seemed to want to get connected to Grady, or Grady to him.

Vikki seemed to notice it. “Look Daryl, the way I see it, you can either leave your baby at Grady, which you don’t want to, or you can go to the Greene’s farm and meet Hershel and see what you think of him yourself, but I think you’ll like it better than Grady, and I promise, the Greene’s would take good care of your baby.”

Daryl hummed…she was right, though, he didn’t have many choices. “Okay.”

“Good!” Vikki grinned, looking at the baby. “And you don’t like the Greene’s? Then I’ll get you three safe to Malingen’s place. I told you, she just had a baby, I’m sure she’d take care of your baby too while she waits for us to reach Alexandria and come back. I’m sure you’ll like Malingen, she’s the nicest, kindest person I know, nobody has ever disliked her!” Vikki assured him. “And if then you decide to stay back and wait for Rick and me, I’m sure she’ll welcome the help of a porter, she’s a scientist and always needs to have stuff delivered to her lab.”

Daryl just hummed…he was going to go to Alexandria too, but it was good to know that there were potential places where he could leave the baby, now he just had to be sure that they were trustworthy and safe, and that the baby would be alright there. The idea of leaving her felt like a kick, but if it was for the best…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who gave this a chance, if you have a moment please let me know your thoughts, your support is what keeps me posting!
> 
> As always, excuse my English, is not my first language


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl had to admit it, Grady’s garage at the CDC was impressive, full of big trucks for cargo that would be the dream of any freelance porter, all kind of bikes, people working on them… He even found himself wondering if he might like to work in a place like that. Vikki got them three bikes, and checking his, Daryl had to admit too that it was a good bike…not like his brother’s, but good enough.

“You sure you can take the baby on it?” Vikki asked.

“Yeah.” Daryl strapped the baby securely to his chest. “You’re gonna be fine, right, Baby?” She cooed at him, and Daryl couldn’t help his smirk.

“What’s her name, by the way?” Vikki smiled down at the baby too.

“BB,” Rick chimed in, and Daryl glared at him.

“That ain’t her name,” he grumbled.

“Oh, yes, he just calls her baby.” Rick chuckled. “What kind of name is that?”

“What kind of name is BB?” Vikki retorted, smiling. “But it sounds cute, though.”

“Ain’t her name.” Daryl got onto the bike, making sure again that the baby was safe and would be alright. “Are we going or what?”

“Yeah, follow me.”

*

Daryl and Rick rode behind Vikki, trusting that she knew what she was doing and that she wasn’t trying to get them into a trap. It seemed that she really knew the area, never leading them to danger, and always managing to avoid groups of walkers, riding far enough so they couldn’t get to them, not at the speed of a bike. There was a timefall storm approaching, still far enough but the wind was going in their direction, and Daryl didn’t like it. He kept checking on the baby, but she seemed to be alright, she even had napped for a while, so she didn’t seem to mind to ride, and Daryl was glad of it. Eventually, Vikki signaled them to stop and so they parked the bikes and dismounted.

“How’s little BB doing?” She asked, smiling as she looked towards the sling.

“She ain’t called like that.” Daryl barked while Rick just chuckled. “And she’s fine.”

“Good, that’s great.” Vikki smiled at him and he looked away, feeling uncomfortable by her friendliness somehow. “Rick, can I have the map?” Once Rick gave it to her, she spread it on top of her bike’s seat. “We’re traveling at a good pace and without any accident, that’s good, but I’m sure you’ve noticed the timefall coming in this direction,” she said, sounded like she was used to this kind of jobs and journeys, and if she was a scout, she must. “It might not reach us, but I don’t think any of us want to risk it, and we wouldn’t reach the Greene’s farm before the night, so…” She pointed at the map. “I was thinking we could stay the night there, it’s a prepper’s place and he’s my friend. Glenn Rhee, he’s kind of a nerd but he’s really nice, he’s not a porter but he scavenges stuff for the Greene’s sometimes. He’ll let us stay the night.”

“Alright, I don’t know anything around here, so.” Rick shrugged, placing the map inside his bag again when Vikki gave it back.

“You got a lot of friends, uh?” Daryl asked, even if he wasn’t really sure as for why, Vikki hadn’t given him any reason not to trust her besides the fact that she worked for Grady, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Yes, I do, is that something bad?” Vikki blinked at him. “I like to get along with people, and when you’re out here, you never know when or where are you going to need someone’s help, it’s good to have people that you know you can trust, I thought porters thought like that too.”

Daryl just hummed without looking at her. He guessed most porters thought like that, but he had never liked to be around people much and he wasn’t sure of how to interact with them, much less make friends. “I’m gonna feed the baby,” he muttered, sitting on the bike and shifting Baby on the sling to feed her properly before he took a bottle of milk and began doing so. He noticed Rick and Vikki looking at him, or rather at the baby, smiling. It made him nervous, and so he focused his gaze on the baby but he couldn’t help a smile of his own as he watched her eating.

“I remember when my son Carl was a baby like that,” Rick commented. “Babies grow so fast…”

Did they? Daryl guessed they did…he rather not think about that, though, because he felt overwhelmed and it kind of gave him a headache. “Alright.” Baby finished eating and Daryl placed the bottle inside his bag before stroking the baby’s cheek with his fingertip, his heart doing that weird thing again when she smiled at him, and then she wrapped her on the sling and held her securely to his chest again. “Let’s go.”

After a while, they arrived at the place that Vikki had told them, parking the bikes in front of the bunker. Vikki pressed the button of the terminal, and soon a voice came from it.

“Yeah?”

“Hey, Glenn! It’s Vikki!”

“Vikki? It’s been a long while! Wait…”

The door of the bunker opened, revealing a young looking, asian man on the threshold, smiling, though he seemed confused when he saw Rick and Daryl with Vikki.

“These are Rick and Daryl,” Vikki explained. “I’m traveling with them, I’m helping them reach Alexandria.”

“Alexandria?” Glenn asked, surprised. “Vikki, you told me yourself that it was dangerous.”

“It is dangerous to go alone, but we are three now, aren’t we?” Vikki shrugged. “Besides, they think their family might be there. We’ll be fine…could we stay here for the night, please? I have some of those cookies that you like.”

Glenn looked at Daryl and Rick, and Daryl couldn’t blame him if he didn’t trust them, but then he looked at Vikki and nodded. “Sure, come oin.” He walked inside, them behind him, and he gestured at them to sit on some chairs. Once Daryl sat down, he tugged at the sling so the baby could move more and look around, and Glenn’s eyes landed on her, wide. “You got a baby with you.” Daryl didn’t say anything or looked at him. “You’re trying to reach Alexandria carrying a baby? Are you crazy?!” Daryl glared at him, he felt guilty enough.

“What do you want him to do, Glenn, come on,” Vikki intervened. “Just drop her anywhere? We’re going to the Greene’s farm, the baby can stay there, they’d watch over her until we’re back, and if Daryl feels like it, he can stay too.” Vikki explained. “Anyway, do you want to come with us to the Greene’s farm?”

“Do you need me?” Glenn frowned, surprised.

“Not really, but I saw how you were looking at Maggie the last time we were there helping Hershel…” Vikki snickered and Daryl really did not care for that conversation at all, and he focused his attention on the baby, who was tugging at a loose threat of the sling.

“I didn’t look her in anyway!” Glenn retorted and Daryl glanced at him despite himself, finding him all blushed. Liar.

“So, you don’t want to come with us and see her? Besides, probably Hershel will need help with something and you can try and win him over,” Vikki said.

“I didn’t say that I don’t want to go…okay, I’m going.”

“Good!” Vikki began to rummage inside her bag and Daryl looked at her as she took a package from his bag, setting it on the table and opening it. “The cookies I promised you,” she said as she took one, munching on it.

“Thanks!” Glenn took one too, and looked at Daryl and Rick. “You can eat them too, come on.”

Rick helped himself into one and so did Daryl, trying not to let crumbles fall on the baby. “I’ll feed you now, don’t worry,” she told her, though he wasn’t sure if she was hungry or not, but when he took the bottle and hovered it near her mouth, Baby latched onto it. “How can you eat so much, uh?” He murmured as he smiled softly, and when he looked up he saw Rick, Vikki, and Glenn looking at them and smiling too. It made him uncomfortable, but he could understand that Baby would get that reaction from them, it happened to him too after all.

“You’re a porter, right?” Glenn asked him and he nodded, humming. “I always wanted to be a porter but my parents thought it was too dangerous. They’re gone now, though…they went out to find some stuff we needed and they were caught in timefall, tried to find refuge but ended up in a group of walkers…Vikki found them and came to tell me, that’s how we met.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t find them earlier and saved them.” Vikki reached out to squeeze Glenn’s hand and Daryl thought that she really sounded hurt, like she genuinely and deeply cared.

“I know, but thanks to you I knew what had happened to them instead of being left wondering, maybe I’d have gone out to look at them myself and would have ended in that same group of walkers,” Glenn said. “Anyway…now that they’re gone maybe one day I’ll decide to become a porter for real. I do delivers to Hershel sometimes.

“I’m sorry about your parents,” Daryl murmured awkwardly, but he meant it. “They were right about the job being dangerous.”

“You don’t like it?” Glenn asked and Daryl shrugged.

“Nah, ain’t that,” he liked most of the time, to be out there, the freedom, and he also he had to admit that he enjoyed to deliver things to people that needed them, to help them. But that didn’t mean that it wasn’t dangerous.

“Have you always been a porter?” Glenn asked and Daryl was feeling uncomfortable with so many questions, but he shook his head.

“Nah…was a mechanic before but that was many years ago.” Another life, almost.

“Really? My dad was one too!” Glenn grinned. “Taught me some things to follow his steps, but I didn’t get his ability …I think I’d be a better porter than a mechanic.”

“Then you know,” Vikki chimed in. “We’ll go help Hershel and then why don’t you start by doing some delivers for him again and you grow from that?”

“Yeah…yeah, I think I might.”

Not much later, they dined on some cans of soup that Glenn took out. “Alexandria, uh? You were always talking about wanting to go there, see places you’d never seen before, seems you’re finally doing it.” Glenn and Vikki were talking to each other, and Daryl made sure to pay attention to it, but still, he couldn’t feel anything threatening coming from them…and honestly, that Glenn kid didn’t seem dangerous at all.

“Yes I am.” Vikki smiled.

“Just…don’t die, alright?”

“I’ll try not too.” Vikki chuckled, leaning to nudge Glenn’s shoulder.

“Also, you too guys, I know we just met, but…” Glenn looked at Daryl and Rick, shrugging. “Don’t die.”

“We won’t.” Rick smiled and Daryl just hummed, looking at the baby and wondering once again if he should have left her at Grady, considering the dangers ahead…but the idea made him feel all wrong.

For a while, they stayed in awkward silence, until Glenn spoke again. “So…any of you guys remember the world before the stranding? I always wanted to know…”

“How old do you think we are?” Rick asked, chuckling, and Glenn blushed.

“Oh no, I didn’t mean…I…I’m a moron,” he let out a defeated sigh while Vikki giggled.

“Well, I was born three years after the stranding, so I don’t know.” Vikki shrugged, still giggling at Glenn.

“And I was born little less than a year before the stranding…lucky me.” Rick chuckled darkly. “So I don’t remember the world before…still I kind of remember everyone talking about it when I was little, nothing was settled yet, my father died to the walkers trying to find a place where his family and other people could survive, my mom told me when I was older that back then she thought that she and I would die too, because everything was madness while we still didn’t have a permanent, safe place, but we made it.”

“Yeah, my mom used to talk about it sometimes too, how they had to flee her city, the mess that everything was after the stranding, how it took years to have actual safe enough settlements working…I was born in one of those first settlements.” Vikki nodded. “I’m sorry about your father, Rick.”

“Yeah, me too.” Glenn nodded, and so did Daryl, though he remained silent. “I was born eleven years after it, my parents didn’t talk much about it, though they were almost kids when it happened.”

“What about you?” Vikki asked to Daryl and once again feeling all the eyes on him made him uncomfortable.

“Was three when the stranded happened, I don’t remember much of the world before it,” he said, frowning. “Just…glimpses, and glimpses of the shit that went before it, leaving my place to one of those refugees camps, and…” he shook his head, he didn’t welcome the memories of his family. “Everything was shit…but my brother took care of me,” Daryl found himself saying more than he’d meant too, and he held the baby to him as if she could shield him when he was feeling vulnerable, not that Baby seemed to mind, as she cooed and smiled.

“That’s the brother who you’re hoping to find in Alexandria, right?” Vikki asked him softly and Daryl nodded. “I’ll get you there, I promise.” Vikki reached out as if to squeeze his arm, and Daryl instinctually flinched away, startled. “Sorry,” Vikki apologized at the same time he did to Baby, who had complained at the sudden move, and Daryl didn’t look up from the baby or said anything else, awkward and embarrassed.

Soon, Glenn was making arrangements for them to sleep. He offered his bed to Daryl since he had a baby with him, but he refused, feeling uncomfortable at the idea, and settling for the floor with a blanket, the baby would be comfortable on his chest, she had slept there since Daryl found her and she seemed content enough, and honestly…Daryl really liked it. Vikki and Rick drew lots to see who’d take the sofa and Vikki won, and so she settled on the sofa while Rick teasingly complained as he ended up in the ground with a blanket like Daryl.

“Don’t worry, soon we’ll be all sleeping on the ground.” Vikki smiled. “Goodnight, team.”

*

On the next morning, they got going to the Greene’s farm. When they arrived at the Greene’s farm, Daryl couldn’t help but be impressed at the place, with an actual house that Daryl guessed resisted the timefall somehow, greenhouses with all sort of plants and crops, protected by metal structures, and also protected stables for cattle.

They followed Vikki and parked the bikes in front of the house, and a woman walked out of them, waving at Vikki.

“Hey, Vikki, it is good to see you!” She smiled, and then she blinked at Glenn. “Hi, Glenn, I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Yeah, me neither…” Glenn murmured, looking down and scratching the back of his head, blushing.

“Hi, Maggie!” Vikki grinned at the woman. “It’s good to see you too. This is Rick, he’s the one who’s gonna connect the settlements, he’s on his way to Alexandria because his family might be there, and this is Daryl, he thinks his brother might be in Alexandria too.”

“Welcome you both and…hey, that’s a baby!” Maggie sounded surprised but Daryl didn’t look at her, he’d been checking that Baby was okay, and once again he felt uncomfortable feeling eyes on him.

“Yes she is, and actually, Daryl needs milk to feed her, do you think you could get us some?” Vikki asked and Daryl forced himself to look at the woman, nodding.

“Yes, I get my sister Beth to milk the cows, do you have bottles?” Maggie asked, and Daryl gave her the bag of empty bottles.

“Thanks,” Daryl murmured.

“Hey, Beth!” Maggie called for her sister, and a blonde teenager walked out of the house, looking at them with curiosity. “Can you milk the cows and get these bottles ready for that baby?”

“A baby!” The girl exclaimed, grinning as she looked at her. “She’s so cute! Can I hold her, please?!” Daryl couldn’t stop himself from stepping back as the girl approached, holding Baby tightly against his chest. “Sorry…” The girl apologized, seeming taken aback. “I’ll get you that milk.”

“Wait…” Daryl chewed on his lip, he hadn’t meant to upset the girl, but he had never left Baby to anyone else since he found her and he felt anxious at the idea. But that girl seemed the less threatening person in the world, her sister didn’t seem like a bad person either, and maybe he’d end up having to leave the baby there…he guessed it would be good for Baby to get used to other holding her too, even if it made him feel uneasy.

He carefully took the baby out of the sling and made to give her to Beth, who grinned and reached out to gently hold her. “Hello, you’re so cute, hi,” she said as she rocked the baby. “What’s your name, hey cutie?”

“BB,” Rick said, looking at Daryl, and Vikki giggled while Daryl glared at both of them.

“What kind of name is that?” Maggie asked.

“Ain’t her name,” Daryl muttered. Baby had seemed content on Beth’s arms, but when she heard his voice, she looked at him, reaching out a hand.

“Aaw, look at that, she wants to go back with you,” Beth cooed. “You wanna go with daddy, uh? You love him, right?” Daryl felt all kind of mushy, embarrassing things at Beth’s words and he hoped it didn’t reflect on his face.

“Look Beth, you and that baby already have something in common, you both are daddy’s girls, I’m sure you’ll be good friends,” Maggie teased, and Beth glared at her, giving the baby back to Daryl.

“She…uh…I ain’t the father…” Daryl found himself explaining. “Her parents are dead and I found her alone a few days ago, so I took her.”

“She was lucky you did!” Beth said, and Maggie nodded. “But I’d say you’re her father already!”

“Yeah,” Vikki nodded, seeming surprised. “I’d have never imagined that you weren’t, or that you had found her just a few days ago.”

“Unless you don’t want to be, that’s okay too, you’ve done enough taking care of her for now,” Maggie chimed in, and Daryl didn’t know what to think of it all.

“I uh…dunno…” Daryl shrugged.

“Nah, you know, you’re such a father already,” Rick said, smiling to him. “I’m telling you.”

“Yeah, well, no one of you knows me anyway,” Daryl didn’t mean to sound rude, but he couldn’t help himself, he was feeling overwhelmed by feelings and out of place, unsure of what he should do about everything, and once again he found himself holding Baby to him as if she could shield him of it all. Not that she seemed to mind, cooing and smiling at him.

“Beth, can you get us that milk? And Maggie, we have to talk to your father and connect this place to Grady’s net.” Vikki said, and Daryl was glad that she was changing topics from him and Baby. “I’d have never imagined that Hershel would agree to join the net.”

“He didn’t want to, took me a while to convince him.” Maggie let out a sigh. “But we have been having problems lately, and so he saw how having a connection with Grady will help us to get help more easily.”

“What kind of problems?” Vikki asked, frowning.

“A group of men came a few days ago, saying that they were from a new settlement, Woodbury, asking to trade,” Maggie explained. “Dad didn’t like how they looked, so he said no, and they threatened us if we didn’t, but dad took the rifle and told them to leave, you should have seen him! I had never seen him like that.”

“I’d have liked to see that, Hershel threatening people with a rifle!” Vikki chuckled darkly. “Isn’t Woodbury that old settlement that was overrun by walkers and abandoned?”

“Yeah, the men said they’ve cleared it, and that it’s theirs now,” Maggie explained. “They left but we’re scared thinking that the men are going to be back, they seemed dangerous.”

“If they cleared that place, they gotta be skillful at the very least,” Vikki said, frowning. “We’ll help with this, right?” She seemed determined, and she looked at Rick and Glenn, who nodded, and Daryl found himself doing the same. “Let’s talk with Hershel.”

*

The farmer explained the situation to them, while Rick connected the terminal of the farm with something that Daryl didn’t understand what it was or how it worked, but once he did, they had a clear radio signal with Grady, clearest than Daryl had ever heard, it wouldn’t get lost, not even if the farm run out of power, it was a way easier and safer way to communicate than the one before.

Beth came back with the bottles of milk, and even some more, and so Daryl fed the baby while everyone made plans. “You like it, uh? It’s good?” He murmured softly to the baby before he could catch himself, and he tried not to feel uncomfortable as Beth looked at him and smiled.

It was decided that the next day on the morning, Vikki and Rick would go out scouting to check the Woodbury group and see how they and the place looked like, while Glenn and Daryl stayed back, he didn’t feel comfortable going with a baby and risking getting caught by unfriendly strangers, and he still didn’t like the idea of leaving Baby alone, besides, Vikki had assured him that it was okay and to wait for them. Hershel needed help with the wall of one of the greenhouses that was breaking, and so Daryl and Glenn would help with that.

They had dinner on fresh vegetables and grains for the first time in which Daryl was sure was forever for him. Glenn and Maggie spoke quietly to each other during dinner, and it was so obvious that he had a crush on her, but Daryl thought that Maggie did too, even if she tried not to give it away. And looking at Hershel watching them, Daryl thought that the man knew that something was going on there too…he wasn’t sure if he was happy about it, though.

After dinner, Hershel gave them rooms in the big house. Daryl sat down on the bed, looking around the room, though it was pretty much empty. He left Baby on the bed, on the side of it that faced the wall so she wouldn’t fall down, and she smiled as she babbled and cooed, kicking her tiny feet. “Let’s sleep, alright?” He tugged at the elastic that held his small ponytail, getting his hair loose and massaging the sore scalp. He was about to lay down when there was a quiet knock on the door and he frowned, getting up and going to open the door, frowning more when he found Vikki there.

“Hey, Daryl, sorry to bother you, but-” She stopped, blinking at him. “Your hair looks nice like that.”

Daryl felt his cheeks burning, embarrassed and awkward, and he couldn’t help but snap. “What you want?!”

“Yeah, sorry…” Vikki apologized quickly, and Daryl thought that she had blushed too. “Just…wanted to ask what you thought of the Greene’s? They’re good people, right?”

“Yeah.” Daryl nodded, he had to admit that they were, they seemed good people.

“I talked with Hershel about Baby, about your situation, I hope you don’t mind,” Vikki said, and Daryl shook his head, even if he felt anxious about it, he knew that he had to do it, and was glad that Vikki had already done it. “He said that if you want to, he’ll take her while we go to Alexandria and come back, I promise he’ll take good care of her.”

Daryl didn’t doubt it, but he still felt bad at the idea of having to leave Baby. “Ain’t sure yet.”

Vikki gave him a soft smile. “It’s okay, you have time to think about it, we’re not moving from here until we have helped the Greene’s with this Woodbury thing.”

“Alright…”

“Good night, Daryl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We met some more twd characters, and next chapter we’ll meet more, can you guess who?
> 
> As always, excuse my English, is not my first language


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter, Daryl and Rick met Glenn Rhree, a prepper friend of Vikki, and together they went to the Greene’s farm to conect the place to the net, finding out that a new nearby settlement, Woodbury, is giving trouble to them.

On the next morning, Daryl couldn’t help his worry as he watched Rick and Vikki leave the farm, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty too, but looking down at the baby strapped to his chest with the sling, he couldn’t help but feel that he had to stay with her. He kept her with him while he worked on repairing the wall of the greenhouse with Glenn, mindful of anything that could hurt Baby. When he had to get up on the roof to check that there weren’t any crack or fissure that could let timefall in, though, he left Baby with Beth, afraid of tripping with her strapped to him.

Baby seemed to like Beth enough, seeming happy with her, and the girl seemed good with her, she was always happy to hold her. While Daryl worked on the roof, he watched them from time to time as Beth fed the baby one of the bottles. She was good with babies and she really seemed to care for Baby. The Greene’s were good people, Vikki was right, Baby would be okay if he left her there, they’d take good care of her, and still…still Daryl felt uneasy at the idea of getting separated from her, and sad too, if he admitted it.

When he climbed off the roof and Baby saw him, she cooed and smiled, reaching out towards him, and Daryl couldn’t help the way it made him feel or his smile, approaching Beth and picking Baby up. “I think it was destiny that you found her.” Beth grinned. “I mean…it’s horrible that her parents died, I don’t wish it had happened, but looking at you both…it’s like you both belong together.” Daryl didn’t know what to think of all that…and neither did he know how he was going to leave Baby… “Did you ever want to have kids? I mean, I think it’s not in most porters’ life, considering that way of living…but did you?”

Daryl looked at Beth, but of course, she couldn’t have known the dart of pain, sorrow, and guilt that would embed in his heart at her words, and she was still innocently smiling at him. Daryl looked down and swallowed hard, trying to push the feelings and memories away, to never think of it again. “Never thought I’d have one,” was the only thing he muttered.

“Well…you got one now.” Beth giggled. “But, you don’t regret it, right?” Daryl shook his head, he had to admit that he loved and cared for that baby. “I think you’re a great father, especially considering that you’ve been one for just like…four days?”

“I ain’t,” Daryl muttered, turning to walk away from Beth, she didn’t mean to, but her words were making memories that Daryl had fought hard to keep locked come back, and he didn’t want to, he couldn’t deal with them. Maybe Baby would be better with the Greene’s than with him…of course she would, what had made him think that a baby could be good with him. Yet, the idea of leaving her just added more pain to the one that his memories were making him feel, and he didn’t know how to stop it, and so he walked away, afraid of ending up crying in front of Beth and Glenn, towards another greenhouse to check that everything was okay.

*

When Rick and Vikki came back, they had a woman with them, her hands tied behind her back and a katana strapped to it. She seemed dangerous, or at the very least, a warrior or a survivor, and she looked around warily. Daryl tucked the baby in the sling, covering her so she couldn’t be seen, and approached them.

“Who’s this?” He asked and the woman looked at him, and then at the bump of material strapped to his chest, and even though the baby couldn’t be seen, Daryl knew that she knew what he was carrying.

“She says she’s called Michonne, she’s from Woodbury, we found her in our way there,” Vikki explained.

“And why the hell you took her and brought her here?” Daryl snapped.

“Because she came to us asking if we were from the farm and saying that she wanted to help.”

“And you trusted her?” Daryl rolled his eyes, neither Rick nor Vikki had seemed idiots to him, but now he wasn’t sure.

“No, I don’t, so I tied her up and we’re gonna interrogate her,” Rick said, pushing the woman towards the barn. Alright, maybe he wasn’t an idiot after all.

“I told you I’m not from there! I arrived there yesterday!” The woman, Michonne, said, glaring at them. “I heard some of them talking about attacking a farm in two days, that’s why I went out to tell you all!”

“Are you helping?” Rick asked to Daryl, ignoring Michonne, and Daryl nodded. He unwrapped the sling and passed the baby to Beth, who seemed scared but rushed to take the baby, holding her tightly to her chest.

Hershel approached them, frowning at the scene. “Vikki, I don’t know…tying up a woman, interrogating her in my barn…I don’t like it.”

“Me neither, but if we are going to be attacked, we need to know everything we can,” Vikki reached out to squeeze Hershel’s arm. “Now, get into the house with Beth and BB,” she said and Daryl didn’t lose time to correct her about the name at that moment. “Maggie, Glenn, go somewhere high and make sure nobody is approaching, take the rifles.”

“Do we have to shoot people?” Maggie asked, seeming as unsure as Glenn.

“No…maybe, I don’t know.” Vikki shrugged, letting out a sigh, but honestly, Daryl was impressed with how she was organizing everything in a few seconds. “Just…just keep an eye out for people, they could be porters or scouts, but they could also be from Woodbury and we know they’re not friendly, if you see someone, you call for us.”

“If they get close, you warn them to stop or you’ll shoot,” Rick added. “We three, let’s go to the barn.”

They tied the woman to a chair and took her katana, and she kept glaring at them as if she wanted to get her katana back and cut their heads off, but she answered to everything that they asked, and Daryl had to admit it, she sounded genuine.

“What were you doing in Woodbury?”

“I ran out of supplies and when I saw Woodbury ahead I went to see if they had something.”

“What were you doing out there?”

Michonne shrugged. “I don’t have a permanent place.”

“Why?”

“That has nothing to do with it.” Michonne shrugged but Daryl could read the look on her eyes, she was trying to run away from memories, he understood that well.

“Why you stayed at Woodbury?” He asked her.

“I didn’t want to but my gir- my friend, she did.” Michonne scoffed. “I found a woman a few months ago, she was being attacked by walkers and I helped her, she decided to stay with me…but she never liked to be out there. And it seems she likes the Governor more than she liked me,” she said bitterly.

“The Governor?”

“That’s how the man leading Woodbury calls himself. I didn’t like him, but Andrea is blind when it comes to him, I didn’t trust him, his men, the place…but she wanted to stay, said I was paranoid.”

“So…your girlfriend dumped you for a guy and so you decide to betray them,” Vikki said. “I mean, sure it sucks, but-”

“It’s not like that!” Michonne snapped. “I told you, I heard them talking about attacking a farm…I just thought about waning you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” The woman shrugged.

Daryl looked at Rick and nodded. He couldn’t be sure, he couldn’t trust her, but he thought the woman was genuine. What was sure was that the farm was in danger, they had thought that before, and now it seemed confirmed. They could just hope that the woman wasn’t trying to lead them to a tramp.

“When are they coming?”

“I’m not sure, tomorrow I think.”

“Can we speak to them? Negotiate?”

“I doubt it.” Michonne scoffed bitterly. “By the sound of it, it doesn’t seem like this would be the first place they raid.”

“And I was thinking we only had to worry about that Saviour group, what’s wrong with people? Alright…alright, we have to get ready.” Vikki looked at Daryl and Rick as if looking for support, and they nodded.

“Let’s go.”

“You’re gonna leave me tied here?” Michonne called after them.

“Yes.”

“I can help!”

Without another word to her, they left the barn. There wasn’t much to get ready, or to plan, though. The farm didn’t have many defenses, just fences that worked for walkers but wouldn’t do so for alive, thinking people, and they didn’t have many weapons besides a couple of riffles. Still, Hershel wouldn’t leave the farm, and Daryl could understand why. He wanted to help, couldn’t talk himself out of it even if he had just known that people for a day, but when he looked at Baby, he was overwhelmed with worry and fear. Over everything, he had to make sure that she was safe.

*

Daryl was about to go take watch so Maggie and Glenn could sleep when Maggie came running, calling for them. “Vikki? Rick? There’s a woman out of the fences, we told her not to move but she said that she has to talk with us.”

It turned out the woman was called Andrea, and she seemed to be the friend whom Michonne had been talking about, both women confirming it when they tied Andrea inside the barn too. Apparently, she had heard the men talking about attacking the farm too, as she apologized to Michonne for having doubted her and having put the Governor before her, and honestly, Daryl didn’t care for all that drama, he just wanted to keep the farm, the people, and the baby safe, he didn’t want to get tangled in whatever drama was going on between those women.

Andrea didn’t bring good news, though, she confirmed that the men had said they’d attack in the morning. “The people who live there, they don’t know anything about it, I promise,” she told them before she glanced at Michonne. “I didn’t either but I should have trusted your instinct, I’m sorry.” Michonne didn’t say anything, still seeming hurt, and Daryl understood, she’d been betrayed by someone she loved…still, the more he studied Andrea, the more he thought that she was saying the truth. “Let me go back, I’ll tell the people, I’ll find a way for them to believe me. If they unite, they can overthrow the Governor and his men.”

“What do you think?” Rick asked, looking at Daryl and Vikki.

“I think she’s saying the truth, both of them,” Vikki said. “What would they gain by sending someone like this? They already know where we are, if they wanted to attack us, they could, why send them?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why…” Rick nodded. “Daryl?” He chewed on his lip, but finally nodded too. Vikki was right, he didn’t understand why Woodbury would send those two women instead of attacking them, unless they were saying the truth, though he still was wary to trust them. “Alright then, you go back and tell the people, and us…what do we do?”

“We have to attack first,” Michonne said. “Take advantage of them not knowing that we are going, instead of waiting, we take them by surprise.”

“So you want us to leave this undefended when they attack?” Daryl asked, suspicious once again, and Michonne rolled her eyes in frustration.

“What do you want? You three against the Governor and his men while they tear down this farm? The crops getting destroyed and the cattle hurt? The farmer and his family getting caught up in it? That baby of yours?” No, he didn’t want that. Fear and rage filled him and Daryl felt like kicking Michonne’s chair, but he wasn’t going to take it out on her when she was just saying the truth.

“We can’t let that happen…” Vikki said.

“Then come on. Untie me,” Michonne said. “Keep someone on watch here, we go to Woodbury, sneak in there in the dark, find the Governor and their men while Andrea tells the people how they really are.”

Rick let out a sigh, but finally nodded. “I guess we can’t do much else.”

And so, they untied the women to follow Michonne’s plan, even get her katana back, and Daryl really, really hoped that this wasn’t a trap and they where about to be betrayed, because she looked like she could slash their heads off in three seconds without breaking a sweat. They left Hershel and Beth locked inside the house with Baby, and Glenn and Maggie taking watch, though they instructed them that if they saw the men coming, not to try to protect the farm but just leave and run away, to try not to be seen or caught. It took a while to convince Hershel of the idea of abandoning his farm, and Daryl had almost threatened him, Baby was with him and he wasn’t going to let her die protecting a farm, but finally he had agreed, and also Daryl trusted that Beth would run and hide with the baby.

She had been asleep when Daryl left and he was glad for it, she hadn’t known that he was leaving, maybe it’d have upset her…still, all the way to Woodbury, he couldn’t help but worry about Baby, scared of her ending up hurt or even killed, so much that his stomach felt like it was closing and as if a heavy weight were pressing on his chest. Everything could go wrong, he didn’t know how he’d ended up tangled in this, he should have just taken the baby and leave…leave where to? And he had to find Merle…he had known already that the journey to find Merle was dangerous, it wasn’t one to have a baby with him, and there he was, he was putting her at risk already…

“Hey…” Vikki whispered, tugging at his sleeve, and Daryl pulled his arm away but he looked at her. “BB will be safe, alright?” She tried to assure him, but despite her weak smile, she seemed nervous and unsure too. “Now let’s focus on this.”

“I’ve never sneaked into a settlement to kill the people in there,” Daryl admitted, he was starting to lose faith on this working, he wasn’t sure that he’d had much to being with.

“Me neither…” Vikki whispered back. “But it’s for a good cause, yeah? I mean, they wanted to kill us and take our stuff?”

“Yeah, don’t care about them, they got it coming, just down want us fucking this up.”

“Maybe we don’t need to kill them, just capture them or-” Vikki kept going, but Daryl interrupted her, shaking his head, he wasn’t risking it, not with Baby at the farm.

“Nah, we do whatever we have to.”

“Yeah…yeah, I guess you’re right.”

They managed to sneak into the Woodbury settlement in the dark without being seen, following Andrea’s instructions, who had managed to steal from the Governor a key for the door of one of the back fences. It wasn’t a big place, but it was well prepared, all the area surrounded with grating and metal walls, and several roofs protecting it from walkers and timefall, so inside they had tiny, actual houses, similar to Hershel’s bigger one, a sight Daryl wasn’t used to. He was used to preppers bunkers or to tall, metallic and concrete buildings like in Grady, or even to underground places. This was nice, sure, but Daryl thought that it’d be harder to protect too in case of an attack either by walkers or hostile groups.

Michonne and Rick would cover one side, looking for the Governor and putting down his men if they found them, though Andrea thought that if they killed the Governor, then everyone might just give up, but they couldn’t be sure. Daryl and Vikki would do the same on the other side, while Andrea sneaked into her room to try and pretend that she’d never left, while thinking a way of making people believe what was going on. Daryl still thought that it wasn’t going to work, but he didn’t know what else they could do.

Vikki and him kept going, hiding in the shadows, until they spotted a man ahead, and Daryl felt Vikki’s hand on his arm but tried not to flinch. “I think that’s one of the men who came to the farm,” she whispered. The man was heavy-armed and wearing military gear…they must have raided old military camps, they had been abandoned long, long ago, and by now those were full of walkers, so those guys must know what they were doing. It didn’t make Daryl feel more hopeful. He took his crossbow and aimed at the man, putting him down silently. “Maybe we could have-” Vikki began, but she stopped when she looked at Daryl. “Yeah…you’re right.” They kept going, but as they turned a corner, suddenly the whole place was brightly illuminated by big spotlights. “What’s going?”

“Everybody, wake up! We are under attack”

Shit…Daryl cursed under his breath, looking around as armed men and civilians alike got out of the houses. He looked around and spotted a man on the balcony of a tall building, who was holding Andrea. Shit. That must be the Governor then and he had found out about Andrea. This was not working as it should…

“We have been betrayed,” the Governor announced. “Look at this. We took Andrea in, we welcomed her, and she goes out in the middle of the night to bring people to kill us, to take our settlement!”

“That’s not true!” Andrea struggled but she couldn’t break free. “He was planning on attacking a farm near here, he is the one who wanted to take their place and their food and he didn’t care who he had to kill to get it!”

“Stop lying!” The Governor went to take his gun as if he were going to execute Andrea, but she was faster than Daryl would have given her credit, breaking free of the Governo’s grasp and taking the knife from his belt. She went to sink it into his head but the Governor was already shooting, and so she didn’t manage to kill him, but Daryl heard the Governor’s screams as he held his bleeding face, so at least she must have hurt him. Andrea fell to the floor of the terrace and Daryl didn’t know if she was dead or not, but then bullets began flying and he felt Vikki tugging at him, both of them taking cover behind some stone pillars.

“What do we do now?!” Vikki asked him but Daryl didn’t have any answer. “If we leave they’ll go to the farm, we can’t let that happen.” No, they couldn’t, but Daryl wasn’t sure how they could stop those men either.

“How many of them do you think they are? The Governor’s men, not the civilians.”

“I don’t know…four men came to the farm but he must have had more here…” Vikki leaned to look around, but she ducked behind the column again when bullets flew in their direction. Daryl recharged the crossbow with an arrow and waited until the shots stopped. Hoping that the man was recharging, he took a deep breath and stepped outside the cover of the column, aiming and shooting the man dead before he could shot first. “Nice aiming.” Vikki said…yeah, he had good aim, might be the only good thing about himself, good aim for hunting food, putting down walkers silently, and now it seemed that to kill men too. Daryl didn’t let himself think much about it.

“Come on, we gotta fight back,” he told Vikki, even if he wasn’t sure that they could win, they had to try.

Before they could do anything, though, Daryl heard screams everywhere, and what seemed the growls and groans of walkers. “What’s going on?” Vikki’s eyes scanned around, wide and wild, but Daryl had no idea…walkers were attracted to the commotion for sure, but they wouldn’t have reached it so fast…

Then, a woman with a little kid on her arms took the corner, running and seeming terrified, but she stopped when she saw them. “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot please!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Vikki raised her hands as if trying to calm her and Daryl followed her lead, lowering his crossbow, but the woman was still looking around terrified. “The Governor was lying, we don’t-”

“He’s gone insane!” The woman interrupted Vikki. “I saw him, he…he kept yelling about betrayal and he was bleeding, he’d lost an eye he…he opened a garage and he had a group of walkers there, he set them loose, it’s big, they’re killing everyone, they’re everywhere!”

No doubt the woman looked so terrified. This was such a mess, Daryl didn’t even know what to think anymore. Vikki took her gun and handed it to the woman. “Take this and lock yourself somewhere, okay? Don’t open it, you hear me? There.” She pointed at one of the houses, pushing the gun into the woman’s hand, who seemed in shock, and then pushed her towards the house.

“Right…right…thank you.” The woman nodded and ran to the house.

Daryl could see a group of walkers approaching, and he couldn’t believe that the Governor had really released walkers on them, inside his own settlement, without caring about his people being killed. Daryl heard a rattling sound next to him and when he looked, Vikki had dropped her bag and was taking what seemed to be a chain whip out of it.

“Don’t get in the middle and I’ll try not to get in the middle of your shooting either,” she said, and before Daryl could say anything, she was charging against the walkers.

She swung the chain and spinned around, pushing away every walker around and cutting the heads off several of them as she did so with a skill that had Daryl glued to the spot, before he kicked into action and shot an arrow at one of the walkers who hadn’t died, putting it down. Vikki looked at him and nodded before she swung the chain again at the approaching walkers, and off there were their heads again…she was way stronger than Daryl had thought, he had to admit it.

Daryl didn’t reload the crossbow again, instead shouldering it and taking his knife to put down the walkers by hand. It’d been a while since he’d had to face a group of them like that, but he was glad to find that he hadn’t lost the skill, and so he put down walker after walker, making sure to stay far enough from Vikki’s chain so his head wouldn’t be cut too, though she really seemed to know what she was doing.

Once there were no walkers around, they nodded at each other and walked up the street looking for more. There were a few dead on the ground, but also dead people, both armed ones and civilians, and they spotted some scared faces behind the windows too. Following the growls, they reached another group of them, but Michonne was there, swinging her katana around, skillfully beheading walker after walker. Daryl looked at her and then at Vikki, who was getting her whip ready again. It seemed that he’d teamed up with two warriors or something without knowing so, he kind of knew that they had to be fighters, but not like this…not like he’d complain.

Rick was there too, shooting at the walkers who were approaching by the other side, and so did Daryl. Once all of them were down, they didn’t have time to recover their breath, as two Governor’s men came running to them, but Rick and Daryl were faster, and before the men could shot at them, they shot first, putting them down.

“Watch out!”

Daryl heard Vikki’s voice and he tugged at Rick just in time as he noticed the Governor seeming to come out of nowhere, trying to shot at them. He was holding his face with one hand, bleeding from his eye, but his shaky hand was holding a gun aimed at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally got Michonne! And kind of a cliffhanger.
> 
> Thanks to the people who gave me their support last chapter, and I’m sorry if this is a big dissappointment, but I really worked hard in this story, so thanks for giving it a chance.
> 
> As always, excuse my English, is not my first language


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter, Daryl, Rick, Michonne and Vikki tried to get into Woodbury, a settlement threatening the Greene’s farm, but they were spotted by the Governor, who released walkers on everyone…

“He’s mine!”Michonne growled when Rick aimed his gun at the Governor, but he shot anyway. He seemed to listen to Michonne, though, because instead of killing the Governor, the bullet hit his arm. The Governor dropped the gun at that, holding his arm and letting go of his face, and as the woman had told them, he’d lost an eye when Andrea had slashed his face.

Michonne strode to him, kicking him into the ground, and then she sunk her katana into his chest, ending him for good.

“Stop!”

It was Vikki’s voice again, and also the rattle of her chain, and when Daryl looked at her, he saw one of the governor’s man pointing his gun at her. Daryl aimed his crossbow at him, but then another Governor’s man shot the man dead before he could shoot at Vikki, and all of them looked at him in shock.

The man lowered his gun. “It’s over,” he announced. “I wouldn’t follow a man who releases walkers at his own people. I never liked his ways, but it kept the place safe…but this is something else. Anyway…it’s over now. Truce?” Daryl wasn’t sure of trusting that guy, and Rick and Michonne seemed to be feeling like him, but then Vikki stepped in front of them.

“Truce.” She nodded, ever so serious, shaking the man’s hand when he reached out. “You got innocent people here. But you don’t dare to take over other settlements again, and don’t even think about the Greene’s farm.”

The man nodded. “I told you, I never liked his ways. But we can make something better of this place.”

“Alright…” Vikki nodded, her face softening, but Daryl remained in tension, just in case. “Let’s clean this mess and speak.”

Daryl noticed Michonne walking away in silence, and he watched her as she headed towards the building in which terrace the Governor had shot Andrea. Vikki and Rick were looking at her too, but they let her go alone. Daryl wasn’t hopeful on having good news, and Michonne’s face when she walked out of the house again confirmed it.

“Andrea?” Vikki dared to ask softly.

“Dead,” Michonne asked courtly.

“I’m so sorry…we’ll bury her, alright? We’ll find her a good place…yeah?” Vikki tried, but Michonne didn’t say anything.

“I’ll help,” the Governor’s ex-man spoke too. “There’s a place near the fence, surrounded by threes, I think we-”

“Shut up,” Michonne snapped, and then she began to walk around, sinking her katana into the fallen walkers as if to make sure they were really dead, and into the dead people as if to prevent them from turning.

“I think we better leave her alone for a while…” Rick said as he looked at Michonne, seeming sorry for her.

“Yeah…” Vikki nodded, looking at her with sad eyes, and Daryl found himself feeling sorry for Michonne too.

“I’ll help with that…with Andrea, and all…” He said quietly, trying to push past his awkwardness, and Vikki looked at him and gave him a weak smile, nodding.

*

They buried Andrea between two trees, and then helped clear the place of bodies of people and walkers alike. Then, Vikki talked to the remaining people, all them seemed in shock by the Governor’s actions, and Daryl wondered how could they have been so blind, but he also pitied them. Vikki agreed with them on speaking with the Greene’s on their behalf, explain what had happened, to try and negotiate with Hershel something that could benefit both settlements. Hershel needed workers from time to time, a helping hand keeping up the farm, and those people needed food. Daryl knew that all this was important, sure it was, and he knew they were lucky they were alive and the Greene’s farm would be okay, sure he knew, but he was itching to go back to the farm and check that Baby was okay, and so he couldn’t help his pacing until finally, finally, Vikki seemed ready to leave. First, though, she headed towards Michonne. Rick and Daryl followed her, and he barely resisted the urge to groan and tell her to rush and go back to the damn farm, but he couldn’t, not looking at Michonne there, standing in front of Andrea’s grave.

“We’re going back to the farm, do you want to come with us?” Vikki asked and Daryl looked at her, wondering what Hershel might think of that.

“No,” Michonne answered without looking at her. “I’m leaving on my own again.”

“That’s not an easy life…”

“Was easier than this…” Michonne nodded towards the grave.

It seemed as if Vikki didn’t know what else to say, and Daryl didn’t know how to act around Michonne either, but then Rick stepped in. “Why don’t you come with us? We’re on a journey, I need to reach Alexandria, I think my family is there, my kid, I need to find them, Daryl’s brother too,” he nodded towards him and Daryl looked down, awkward. “I saw you with that sword, you’re a warrior, if you come with us, I think we have fewer chances of dying.”

“Yes!” Vikki’s eyes went wide and she grinned. “You’re right, she can come with us! Will you? It’s not good to be alone…not even for scouts and porters.” She glanced at Daryl at that, and once again, he looked down.

“I…I don’t know…” Michonne seemed taken by surprise at all that.

“At least come to the farm with us now, rest, get some supplies if you really want to leave, but think about joining us…okay?”

“Okay…”

And so, they headed back to the farm. As soon as they spotted them, Maggie and Glenn ran to them to ask them about everything, so first Vikki assured them that everything was okay and the farm was safe now, and then they headed to talk to Hershel about everything and the deal that she was offering with Woodbury. 

Sure, the deal was important, but Daryl ignored them anyway, rushing straight to Beth, who was holding Baby. “Is she okay?” Daryl wasn’t sure if Baby recognized his voice or if it was just coincidence, but as he spoke, her tiny head moved towards him, looking at him and smiling as she made babbly noises.

“She’s good, fed and all, even napped a bit but she didn’t want to sleep more.” Beth smiled as she passed him the baby, and Daryl couldn’t help his own as he held her to him. “She cried for a while when she realized that you had left, but I managed to calm her down…eventually.”

“Did she?” Daryl felt a stab of guilt on his heart. “I’m sorry, Baby…”

Ignoring the others, he began walking around the farm with Baby on his arms and a million thoughts in his head, while Vikki explained to Hershel everything about Woodbury. There wasn’t much he could do anyway.

After a while, when he was sat down with Baby outside one of the greenhouses, Daryl saw Vikki approaching him. “Hey, there you were.” She smiled. “We’re going to eat something, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Daryl was too, but he’d learned to ignore it as best as possible long ago. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Daryl was going to nod but ended up just shrugging. “How were things with Hershel?”

“Got him to agree.” Vikki smiled again, and somehow Daryl had known that she’d manage to do so. “Glenn and Maggie will go tomorrow to talk to them and bring one of them to talk to Hershel, and we’ll go in our again,” Vikki explained. “Have you decided what are you going to do with Baby?” She asked softly, and part of him wanted to snap, but he just let out a sigh, leaning his head back on the metal walls of the greenhouse.

“No.”

“Can’t be easy…”

“I just…dunno what I’m supposed to do,” Daryl found himself explaining to Vikki. “I could have gotten her killed, I brought her here and it was dangerous, those people from Woodbury could have come and killed her.”

“Technically, that was my fault,” Vikki said, chewing her lip. “I wanted to apologize. I told you that I’d keep you and your baby safe, and Rick too, and first stop I’m already getting you all in something dangerous and almost getting you killed. I’m sorry.”

“Nah…” Daryl frowned at her. “You didn’t know it, ain’t your fault, we had to come here and you brought us here safe.”

“I guess…” Vikki gave him a weak smile. “I don’t regret it, we have helped the Greene’s, otherwise they’d have gotten hurt, maybe even killed.”

“Yeah.” Daryl nodded. He didn’t know those people, but he was glad they were good anyway.

“But I’m sorry I put your baby in danger.” Vikki knelt down next to him, looking at Baby, and Daryl felt the urge to move away and hide Baby, but it was gone in a second. “Sorry.” She apologized to the baby, who was holding to Daryl’s clothes. Then Vikki looked at Daryl’s face and frowned. “Are you really okay?”

Instead of snapping as part of him felt, Daryl just shrugged, looking at Baby. “Beth said that she cried when she realized I had left,” Daryl found himself telling to Vikki. “I think…maybe she thought I had left for good? That I had abandoned her too. First her mom died, and then his father left her ‘cause he died too, and now she maybe thought I left her…and I could have, I could have died and left her.” Daryl wasn’t sure if he was making sense, he wasn’t even sure himself or what he was feeling, or even why he was telling that to Vikki. “And now I’m thinking about leaving her here, about actually abandon her, that shit ain’t right…but I don’t…dunno what to do…” He shrugged helplessly and he looked at Vikki, embarrassed about having blurted out all that emotional nonsense, but she didn’t seem to judge, or to laugh at him, he was looking at him with serious eyes.

“I dragged you both into this mess and put you in danger and I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “And…this is going to sound horrible and not comforting at all, but, if you had died at Woodbury, I can promise you that the Greene’s would have taken care of BB…Baby, as their own. She’d be sad and miss you, but she’d have someone, she wouldn’t be alone and abandoned…and by leaving her here, you wouldn’t be abandoning her, you would just ensure her safety while you go to find your brother, and then you’ll be back for her.”

“Yeah…she ain’t gonna understand that,” Daryl murmured, stroking the baby’s cheek carefully with his fingertip. “All she’s gonna know is that I’m leaving her.”

“Daryl…I don’t know what to tell you,” Vikki said softly, and Daryl shrugged again. “I think Baby would be good here, safe and cared for, but I can see how hard it’s for you…just remember that there’s also the choice of my friend Malingen, closer to Alexandria.”

“You really think she’d take her?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Vikki nodded and Daryl chewed on his lip, thoughtful.

“Which option do you think it’s better?”

“I don’t know, I’m sorry, Daryl…” Vikki let out a long sigh. “Malingen is great, lovely and kind, with a baby of her own…but also, BB is already here, and we secured this place and connected it to the net in case there’s any other emergency, and this is a farm instead of a prepper’s bunker…” Daryl listened to her, letting out another sigh. “Yeah, it’s a hard choice for sure, I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”

“Nah, you helped enough.” Daryl nodded at her. Not only enough but quite a lot, actually.

“You can also stay with her, you know that,” Vikki told her softly, and Daryl was surprised with how much he actually wanted to do so, but he knew he couldn’t.

“Can’t…gotta go find my brother.”

“I understand.” Vikki nodded. “Wherever you decide to leave her, though, I promise I’ll get you to Alexandria and bring you back to Baby safe and sound.” Vikki smiled at him, but then she turned serious again. “Kind of an empty promise after almost getting you killed in this Woodbury mess.” She scoffed and Daryl looked at her, frowning.

“Told you it ain’t your fault. You helped with those walkers, hell, you put down almost all of them yourself, with that chain whip thing of yours, that shit was impressive,” Daryl told her, and he was absolutely honest.

“Really?” Vikki looked at him with a smile and Daryl nodded but he looked away, shy.

“Did you saw Michonne with that katana, she’s really impressive too, I hope she comes with us too,” Vikki said, sounding excited and Daryl nodded. Michonne would be helpful for sure if they ran into trouble. Rick had called her a warrior, and Daryl had thought the same about Vikki when he saw her with that chain putting down groups of walkers, and he realized that he believed it when she said she’d get him to Alexandria and back safe, he was the first surprised, but he realized that he trusted her to do so. He thought for a second about maybe telling her so, but it was too embarrassing, and so he didn’t say anything. “I wonder why she was out there on her own until she found Andrea, without a place or anything, she’s not a porter or a scout.”

Daryl hummed…he had a theory of a sort, but he wasn’t sure or could prove it, coming only for the couple of times that Michonne had glanced at Baby. “I think she lost something. Someone.”

“Haven’t we all?” Vikki muttered. “Guess we all deal with that in different ways…maybe you’re right.” Daryl glanced at her while she chewed on her lip, but when Vikki looked at him again, Daryl looked away. “I lied. There’s a reason why I’m going to Alexandria.” Daryl looked at her but managed to stop himself from saying anything, letting her speak. “Aren’t you tying me to a chair in the barn to interrogate me?”

Daryl snorted at that, but she had a point, he didn’t trust people, and she was admitting that she had lied…and yet, he still couldn’t see a threat in her. He’d seen Vikki help people, save their asses, both Rick’s and his, but also help people who she didn’t know. She just didn’t seem like a bad person trying to trick Rick into something that Grady might have planned, Daryl had thought about it more than enough, had studied the woman enough, and still couldn’t see her as a threat for him, or Baby, or Rick…she was honestly looking like an ally, not that Daryl had never had one. Still, he needed to know what was that of her lying, to make sure he was not mistaken and his instinct was lying to him with this one.

“So, why you wanna go to Alexandria in a suicide mission, uh?” He asked and Vikki smiled weakly at him. Daryl wondered if she had really thought he’d tie her and interrogate her, or anything like that…yeah, if she was any other, he probably would have, but he still felt she wasn’t trying anything bad on him or Rick.

“It’s a long story… I have a sister, she’s ten years older than me, she was one of the first scouts that started traveling the world, once some communities were already settled, when I was little. She would come back, bringing stories of other places, I loved listening to her, she’s the one who brought word to my area of the big settlement of Grady existing to the west of us, and so many other places. Hershel knew her, back when Maggie and Beth didn’t exist yet, she was one of the first people to stumble into the growing farm that he was building to resemble the one he and his family had before the stranding. I wanted to be a scout too, like my sister, I told her I would, and we’d discover new places together.” Vikki smiled sadly.

“Once I was old enough, I became a scout like her. I knew it was a dangerous job, that there were herds of walkers, hostiles, the timefall, that sometimes you have to take detours and spent more days than planned wandering places empty of any other people or help, that quite a lot of scouts died that way, or caught up in an endless timefall or surprised by a herd of walkers, or captured by hostiles…or…well, you’re a porter, I guess you know the drill too.”

Vikki looked at him and Daryl nodded in silence, holding Baby to him tighter than he realized.

“I was part of my sister’s team for years. Right when we were planning on going further west, I injured my ankle and my sister told me to rest it in Grady, that she and the team would go west and she’d come back to tell me what they found…I wanted to go too, I was so pissed! That was more than a year ago, almost a couple, but time passed and my sister and the team weren’t back, I got my own team, went looking for her while also working for Grady, and nobody knew anything…I thought I had lost her forever, but then I found someone from the old team. He told me that they had decided to keep going west, past Grady and the Greene’s land, finding an area full of walkers that they cleared, further still. They got separated by timefall, part of the team with my sister, part with him. He thought maybe they’d tried to push past the storm and keep going west…and you know what’s west? Alexandria. I’m sure there are more places, but that’s the only one we know is there for real. So I thought…what if my sister is there? Of course, maybe she died, but what if she survived? What if she’s in Alexandria or any other place in that area? I know it’s stupid and delusional, you don’t have to say it.”

Vikki shrugged, seeming defensive. She was looking down and so Daryl looked at her, knowing that she wouldn’t see him, and feeling genuinely sorry for her. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t that. He didn’t know what to say, and so he let her keep speaking, if she wanted to.

“I tried to get my team to go there, but once we got word of that hostile group, the saviors, and after what everyone thought had happened to my sister’s team, no one was too keen on going. I decided to go alone, but a scout friend found out and talked sense into me…took her a while to convince me, though. But I got lucky and suddenly Dawn was looking for someone to help Rick to get to Alexandria, and she asked me! Then I met Rick and you were with him, so great, three better than two, and now we found Michonne so…yeah, good, we are kind of building a team, that’s more chances to reach Alexandria and not come back empty-handed…” Vikki shrugged and smiled at him, but she seemed sad.

Daryl still didn’t know what to say, and Vikki looked away again. “So you ain’t from Grady?” He found himself asking, even if probably there were a million things better to say after what Vikki had told him, but he didn’t know what.

Vikki snorted. “No, I’m not even from this area, I’m from the east, does that make you dislike me less?”

“I don’t…didn’t mean…don’t dislike you…” Daryl stumbled with his words, getting flustered.

“I’m just joking,” Vikki chuckled, giving him that genuine smile, but it was still sad. “I get why you dislike Grady, but not everyone there’s awful, some people go there because they feel safer living there, which I guess is true. Also, they pay well, once we reach Alexandria, if you come back, you might consider working for them as a porter.”

Daryl wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, but he scoffed and smirked. “Tried to already, they made pretty clear that they didn’t want my services.”

“Really?” Vikki looked at him. “Well, that’s their lose then, I’m sure you’re a great porter, and you’re great with that thing.” She nodded at his crossbow. “I’ve never seen anyone with a crossbow before.” Daryl shrugged, looking away, embarrassed when he felt his cheeks blushing.

“My brother found it once, when I was little, he didn’t care for it so gave it to me,” he to her.

Vikki nodded, seeming thoughtful, and then she chuckled. Daryl frowned at her, wondering what she was laughing about. “What a team we are…we’re like lost puppies, Rick’s looking for his family in Alexandria, you’re looking for your bother, and I am for my sister. Bonded by missing family members and a blind hope of them being in a settlement we know nothing about.” Yeah…she was right, and Daryl snorted bitterly too. “I truly believe that we can find Rick’s family and your brother there, though, all evidence points to it,” she said, looking at him with sincere eyes, and Daryl believed her even if he was always trying to be not too hopeful…but if he didn’t believe that his brother might be in Alexandria, then he didn’t know what to do. “My sister, though…I know that she probably died, that if she didn’t she’s probably lost to me forever, and yet…yet part of me is still hoping that she’s in Alexandria or that area, and that I’ll find her…and it’s stupid but I can’t help it.”

“Ain’t stupid,” Daryl found himself saying, even if he usually thought like that. “You know she went to the west, so she might be still there.”

“If she survived that timefall, and hostile groups, and walkers, and whatnot…” Vikki let out a sigh. “Everyone said that the area leading to the west was way worse then than now, my sister’s team cleared it a lot, made maps, we gotta thank them for that, it’ll make our journey easier…” Then, she smiled weakly at Daryl again. “Imagine if my sister is really there and so is your brother, and they have teamed up too?! Wouldn’t that be great?! Is he a porter too?”

“Kind of…” Daryl answered evasively, looking away, feeling shame at the idea of telling Vikki the business with which his brother occupied his time. “We ain't’ from here either, we’re from further south. I came here once to deliver an order and tried to get a job at Grady, went back to my area when they said no, then last week I got an order to deliver some shit at Windmill area.”

“What? That’s near Grady but nobody goes there because there’s like a permanent timefall, I learned it the bad way.”

“Yeah, I know…but it was well paid. Then I got caught up in the timefall, and found a herd, lost my damn bike, my cargo…” He scoffed, shaking his head, he’d been a damn idiot. Then he looked at Baby and smiled softly. “But I found Baby.”

“Then it was worthy! Poor one needed someone to find her!” Vikki said, and Daryl nodded. “Maybe it was destiny.”

“Don’t believe in that shit.”

“Me neither, but…” Vikki shrugged, smiling and glancing at Baby. “So you haven’t been in this area for long.”

Daryl shook his head. “Didn’t even know my brother was here, until Rick told me, I haven’t seen my brother in years, didn’t know where he was.”

“You know…that kind of sounds like destiny too, maybe.” Vikki smiled again and Daryl scoffed, but couldn’t help his own smile. “Now…let’s get something to eat, yeah? Everyone must be waiting for us…nah, sure they’re eating without us.” She chuckled, still smiling. “Come on.” She got up and reached out her hand to him. Daryl stared at it and part of him wanted to slap the hand away out of instinct, but he didn’t. He swallowed hard and finally reached out too, gingerly taking Vikki’s hand, and she tugged, helping him to get up. Once he was on his feet, he quickly let go of her hand, but he found himself giving Vikki a tiny smile and a nod, following her back to the house.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading the first chapter of my weird fic, I hope you didn't hate it.  
> As always, excuse my English, is not my first language.


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